STONE RESTORATION PRACTICE IN
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES:
A CASE STUDY FROM JERUSALEM
part 1
Shadi Sami Ghadban*
Marwan Ashhab,
Dr. Shadi Ghadban is a teaching
staff member at the Department of Architectural Engineering/ Faculty of
Engineering at Birzeit University, Palestinian Territories. His academic and
research activities are oriented towards the problems of local traditional
architecture and has several publications on this field. In addition, he has a
wide experience, as consultant and project manager for a good number of
rehabilitation and restoration projects in several major Palestinian cities,
including Bethlehem and Hebron.
Eng. Marwan Al-
Ashhab, is a civil engineer and holding a Master degree in the field of
“Restoration and Rehabilitation of Buildings” from the Higher Institute of
Islamic Archaeology, Jerusalem University. Since 1998 he established his own
consulting office and started his activity as contractor for rehabilitation and
restoration of old buildings in the city of Jerusalem. He is a research fellow
at the Department of Architectural Engineering at Birzeit University.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this research is to study the present practice
applied to restoring and improving the status of the stonework in the historic
buildings in Palestine, concentrating on this practice within the boundaries of
the Old City of Jerusalem, Palestine. This requires identifying the stones’
current conditions and the causes behind their deterioration, and defining the
appropriate criteria to be monitored in dealing with the effects of ongoing
deteriorative factors on the maintenance and rehabilitation of these stones,
concentrating on the phenomenon of porosity.
The methodology implemented in this research is based on both
tangible and intangible components. These include a survey of the literature,
direct observations through site visits, the photographing of certain cases,
and collecting and analyzing samples from the various sites as well as from
among the building materials available on the local market. All the samples
were subjected to laboratory testing at Birzeit University in order to
determine the properties of the materials to be used in the restoration
process.
The research concludes with the drafting of specific
recommendations and suggestions to be used in the field of stone restoration
practice.
Keywords: Stone properties, Deteriorative Effect, Laboratory Testing,
Historic Buildings, and Authenticity.
Postal Address:
Department of Architectural Engineering
Faculty
of Engineering- Birzeit University
Birzeit-
P.O.Box (14)
Palestine
Tel: +972 2 2982119
Fax: +972 2 2982984
Running
Head: STONE RESTORATION: A CASE STUDY FROM JERUSALEM
INTRODUCTION
Architecture in
Palestine has been a product of the larger cultural development along the
eastern shore of the Mediterranean basin, and has been influenced by historical
events that repeatedly caused great dislocation and mixing of ethnic groups.
One result has been diverse populations – having different governing systems,
customs and other cultural traditions –living very close together. In this way,
the necessary conditions were established for mutual influence to take place,
during the process of the formation, development and enrichment of inventive
traditions and values [1].
The historical cities of Palestine were
thus formed and shaped as a result of this remarkable dislocation and
juxtaposition of ethnic groups. They have undergone in the past, and are still
increasingly exposed to, a long process of development beginning (in the case
of the city of Jericho) some 10,000 years ago. The material traces of these cities reflect long centuries of human
history condensed in a limited area, presenting to us the living image of the
local historical and cultural environment over time (Fig 1).
Stone is considered the main building material in these cities due to its abundance; its
splendid display of color ranging from white, to yellow, pink and gold; its
inherent strength to resist different weather conditions; and its
particular geological characteristics. This reliance on stone construction is
reflected in a substantial range of historic buildings, structures possessing
high cultural heritage value and authentically reflecting the various
civilizations that prevailed in this region.
In
the case of Jerusalem, the city not only has experienced some 5,000 years of
human development, but it still occupies a special place in the world,
especially as the focus of three great
religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam [2]. Throughout its
historical development spanning many centuries, this city has accumulated many
occupational layers, and was subjected at least eighteen times to significant
damage from natural or manmade sources of destruction [3]. The Old City in particular
has been substantially rebuilt several times, reaching its current
configuration in the period of Ottoman
rule [4].
The city witnessed periods of major restoration during
the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, focused mainly on the early
Islamic and other religious monuments in Jerusalem. This trend was one part of
a larger program implemented by the Ottomans in order to control the region,
and also the result of competition among various religious groups and foreign
powers for primacy in the city [5].
Beginning with the British Mandate over Palestine in
1920, continuing during the period of
Jordanian rule (1948-1967), and finally under the Israeli occupation (1967-present),
the restoration process proceeded slowly, and now a trend is evident toward
growing awareness of issues concerning the rehabilitation or restoration of
major religious or public buildings and compounds in the Old City. The present
initiatives are largely funded by non-governmental organizations, employing
guidelines and techniques reflecting the European experience in the field of
restoration, and technical standards and charts
approved by international organizations such as UNESCO, ICOMOS, ICCROM,
REHABIMED, etc. At this stage, the stone restorations have continued according
to previous established practices, mainly those related to replacing of damaged
or missing stones, plastering and pointing and treatment of any detectable
deterioration in the stones of the historical buildings. Thus far, however, this
practice has not considered the physical characteristics of the stone material
itself, especially its
ability to withstand various deteriorative factors.
In 1993, the Palestinian Authority was
established according the provisions of the Oslo Interim Agreement. As a
result, since about 1998 several large-scale restoration and rehabilitation
projects, both international and local initiatives, have been undertaken,
giving rise to a new Palestinian awareness towards the restoration and
rehabilitation of buildings (one of its main objectives being to counteract the
Israeli campaign of “Judaizing” the Old City of Jerusalem). Thus, various
organizations, local and international, started restoring and/or rehabilitating
different public and residential structures. This work has proceeded
sporadically and at a low level, continuing with the same techniques as used in
the previous periods. Specifically, all the operations were carried out without
any sort of laboratory testing, analysis that would obviously help in defining
the quality of both the old, existing materials employed in the buildings and
the new materials to be used in any restorations.
Thus, the main objective of this study is to examine
the present practices used in the restoration of stonework within the historic and traditional buildings in
Palestine, through a case study from Jerusalem, concentrating
on how to help upgrade the prevailing practice through the proper, informed
selection of materials, according to standardized, measurable criteria, all the
while preserving the materials’ authenticity as to their color and shape, and
insuring the compatibility between the old and the new stones, and that they
will hold up optimally in the future against the various deteriorative factors. This
requires identifying the current condition of these stones, the causes behind
their deterioration, and defining the appropriate criteria, within the
practices prevailing in the country, for managing better maintenance and restoration
process.
To achieve this objective, a methodology based on both tangible
and intangible components shall be presented and implemented in this paper. It
includes a survey of the existing literature, field observations through site visits,
the photographing of certain cases of deterioration, and collecting and
analyzing samples from various existing structures as well from the building
materials available on the local market and commonly used in restoration
operations. All of the collected samples were subjected to laboratory testing
at Birzeit University laboratories in order to examine their nature and
properties. Of special interest were those properties of the materials which,
in the context of a rehabilitation process, influence long-term durability,
i.e. factors which will support preserving the authenticity of the stone
structures while also insuring their maximum stability against various
deteriorative changes. These findings
will help in the selection of the proper stones for restoration of each case
separately, and will guide the preparation of the necessary mixtures (mortars, fillers, etc.) which can
be custom-made for specific applications and will thus be suitable for the most
effective restoration actions in a wide range of future projects.
.....to be continued....
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