Paper contribution

Determination of Abrasion Characteristics of Ancient Stone Architectural Elements by Field-based Measurements and Laboratory Testing

Murat Dirican; Ahmet Furkan Çalıkoğlu; Mustafa Erkayaoğlu; Tuna Kalaycı

Proceedings
EUROCK 2026
Pages
1277-1285
Submitted
28 April 2026
Accepted
15 June 2026
Published
12 August 2026

Summary

Abstract

This study examines the applicability of non-destructive test methods for the indirect estimation of Böhme abrasion values of archaeological materials from Ephesus and Kerkenes, Türkiye. Direct determination of abrasion resistance by laboratory testing is not always feasible for valuable heritage stones. Therefore, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and Schmidt hammer measurements were considered as practical non-destructive alternatives to estimate abrasion resistance. Within the scope of this study, marble samples from the Ephesus region and granodiorite samples from the Kerkenes region were tested under laboratory conditions by means of UPV, Schmidt hammer, and Böhme abrasion experiments. Moreover, in-situ UPV and Schmidt hammer measurements were conducted on archaeological thresholds and paving stones at both sites. To evaluate the predictive capability of the non-destructive parameters, the laboratory results were compared with empirical correlations relating Böhme abrasion values to UPV and Schmidt rebound values available in related literature. The newly obtained data were subsequently integrated into the published datasets, and updated relationships were derived. The analysis showed that the updated UPV-Böhme abrasion relationship better represented the marble dataset, while the granodiorite dataset showed better agreement with the updated Schmidt hardness-Böhme abrasion relationship. Overall, the findings demonstrate that non-destructive methods can provide a practical basis for the future in-situ estimation of abrasion behaviour of archaeological stones, especially where sample collection and testing cannot be performed on archaeological sites.

Contributors

Authors

  1. Murat Dirican Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands ORCID 0000-0002-9608-2084
  2. Ahmet Furkan Çalıkoğlu Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye
  3. Mustafa Erkayaoğlu Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye
  4. Tuna Kalaycı Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

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References

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