Relative Rate of Durability towards Influence of Water in Stone Degradation: Case Study of Lead Mosque in Shkodra (northwest Albania)

Year 2018, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 105 - 109, 30.06.2018

Laura Shumka Cigdem Ciftci

Abstract

The Lead Mosque is located in
the northwest of Albania into a humid Mediterranean environment. It was
built in 1773 by the Albanianpasha Mehmed
Bushati who was vizier of Shkodra at the time. Through this act, he intended to give his city
of birth, the feeling of the capital. The
mosque has numerous cultural importances and represents a building built with
calcareous stone based materials which have suffered degradation process due to
long exposure periods to the existing environmental conditions. The main
purpose of this paper is to present the influence
of water and relative humidity on stone degradation. Water circulation in
stones and water flow between stones and atmosphere or ground are one of the
main driving factors in the building degradation processes in other historical
monuments of Albania including other religious. It is well known that porous
building materials absorb and desorbs water as a function of the weather
conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and rainwater), that is why water
plays a fundamental role in the phenomena of stone deterioration. The
construction of hydropower plants in Drini River (Vaui Dejes) accelerated the
water presence through flooding along with diverse water bodies proximity of
the mosque location (Adriatic coast, Shkodra Lake and Drini/Buna system). The
experimental tests through temperature and humidity were determined using data
loggers from selected walls of Lead Mosque. Air temperature and relative
humidity were measured every 30 min and processed to obtain average, maximum,
and minimum monthly data. The flood history was also considered following
archival data of Institute of Geo-science in Tirana.

Keywords

Limestone, degradation, Mediterranean climate, water

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