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From ancient construction, through survival, towards modern conservation: characterization of fine-grained building material at Niğde-Kınık Höyük (Cappadocia, Turkey)

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Abstract

In this paper, we studied building materials from the Niğde-Kınık Höyük archaeological site (Southern Cappadocia, Turkey) with the support of historical, architectural, and geological research. The samples were collected within the framework of the Kınık Höyük Archaeological Project, which began excavations at the site in 2011 in a bid to conserve the ancient buildings that would be discovered there. The objective was to characterize the fine-grained building materials as a means of understanding the structural stability they offered, in order to explain how the remains had managed to survive for such a long time. Samples were taken from the coating on different walls, from mud bricks and rendering, and from soil-beaten floors from the different buildings in the settlement. Samples were first observed using a video microscope and then studied by means X-ray diffraction and optical and scanning electron and transmission microscopies. The materials studied were composed of volcanic sands coming from the materials that outcrop in the area. In general, the samples were porous and fissured and minerals of volcanic origin were identified such as quartz, plagioclases, cristobalite, pyroxenes, micas, amphiboles, and olivine together with others of sedimentary origin, such as calcite, and small amounts of clays. The possible presence of hydrated calcium silicates was closely investigated due to their important role in the preservation of ancient building materials, but although we searched for them with a range of different techniques, none was found. This indicates that the long-term conservation of the Niğde-Kınık Höyük archaeological site may be due to the fact that it was buried at constant temperature and humidity conditions and so protected from the weather conditions, which are milder in this area than in any other region of Central Anatolia.

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Notes

  1. DMS geographical coordinates of the geodesic point on the mound: N 37° 56′ 14.3988″, E 34° 22′ 48.7308″ (source: Google Earth, verified by GPS)

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Nigel Walkington for his assistance in translating the original text. We are equally grateful to Prof. Ali Gurel who kindly assigned us the study of these samples. The work is the results of the collaboration between the authors. For the sake of the evaluation of the research in the Humanities in Italy, L. d’Alfonso is responsible for the part entitled: Archaeological and construction analysis.

Funding

This study received financial support from Research Group RNM179 of the Junta de Andalucía and Research Project MAT2016-75889-R.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 1 - 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Massimo Setti

  2. Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18002, Granada, Spain

    Anna Arizzi, Nicolás Velilla Sánchez & Giuseppe Cultrone

  3. Department of the Environment, CIEMAT, Avda. Complutense 22, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Paula Nieto

  4. Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW-NYU), 15, East 84th St, New York, NY, 10028, USA

    Lorenzo d’Alfonso

  5. Department of Humanities, University of Pavia, P.za del Lino 2 - 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Lorenzo d’Alfonso

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  1. Massimo Setti
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  2. Anna Arizzi
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  3. Paula Nieto
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  6. Lorenzo d’Alfonso
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Correspondence to Anna Arizzi.

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Setti, M., Arizzi, A., Nieto, P. et al. From ancient construction, through survival, towards modern conservation: characterization of fine-grained building material at Niğde-Kınık Höyük (Cappadocia, Turkey). Archaeol Anthropol Sci 13, 79 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01309-0

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