A significant contribution to the conservation of UNESCO sites in Armenia. Study of the state of conservation of the Geghard Monastery

Abstract

The preservation and conservation of built Cultural Heritage is a complex matter that needs to be monitored to develop appropriate monitoring and preventive conservation actions. In the Armenian context, this is something that is even more challenging, since most of the architectural heritages are monasteries not always easy to reach and are also subjected to serious degradation problems. The aim of this study was the monitoring and preliminary analyses of the state of conservation of Geghard Monastery, one of the most important UNESCO heritage sites in Armenia. Specifically, this research reports the preliminary results of the investigation on the internal stone surfaces of the “Proshian family room”. Non-destructive analyses were performed to evaluate the current situation and suggest a possible monitoring plan. A photographic survey and morphological analysis of the stone surface was carried out to map the degradation patterns. Temperature and humidity were also monitored by dataloggers located in the room. Sponge-test method (Ribeiro T., et al., 2020) was applied to evaluate the heterogeneous stone behaviour with the water. Ultrasonic analyses were also performed to collect information on the weathering of different areas in the room. Together with these measurements, chemical and mineralogical analyses on the widespread presence of black deposits and efflorescence were also performed in the lab by FTIR, Raman, salt conductivity, and XRD analyses to try to understand their formation processes. The collected data constitute a starting point for understanding the state of conservation of the caved room, helpful for future preventive conservative interventions.