An overview of Roman dimension stones in the Netherlands

A concise overview is given of Roman use of local and imported dimension stones in the Netherlands. Local stones include Cretaceous Maastricht and Kunrade limestone from the south of the Dutch province of Limburg, Carboniferous sandstone from the Limburg-Aachen-Liège area and Miocene Nivelstein sandstone from Herzogenrath, just east of the...

The volcanic foundation of Dutch architecture: Use of Rhenish tuff and trass in the Netherlands in the past two millennia

Occasionally, a profound but distant connection between volcano and culture exists. This is

Building stones from a muddy delta: Native natural stone from The Netherlands

Most of the Netherlands a Quaternary delta, local supplies of natural stone suitable for building are rare. These include: Quaternary bog iron ores used in early medieval times (until c. 1200); erratics, deposited in boulder clay during the Saalian ice age in the northern Netherlands and gravel from the river Meuse; Miocene lithified siliceous...

Building stones from a muddy delta: Native natural stone from The Netherlands

Decay of Rhenish Tuff in Dutch monuments. Part 2: Laboratory experiments as a basis for the choice of restoration stone

Rhenish tuffs (Eifel, Getmany), have been used as building material in the Netherlands since Roman times. They were the most important natural building stone in the Netherlands in early medieval times. In addition, tuff was used as raw material for production of trass, that served as a pozzolanic addition for mortars. Rhenish tuffs, notably...

Microscopic study of weathering of white Flemish stone from the monumental Church of Our Lady in Breda, The Netherlands

This paper deals with the use of an integrated microscopic method to assist in the investigation of the causes and the extent of decay of the stones and ornaments in the gothic Clurch of Out Lady in Breda, The Netherlands. The purpose of the study was to determine whether conservation measures were necessary. As part of the investigation 8...

Black weathering of Bentheim and Obernkirchen sandstone

Black weathering of sandstone in monuments is widespread. Some obiects owe their name to it, like the Porta Nigra in Triet (Germany). Other than the black gypsum crusts common on limestone, the black weathering layer on sandstone is rather thin and well adhe¡ent. Formation of such layers on Bentheim and Obernkirchen sandstone, both widely used...

Decay of Rhenish Tuff in Dutch monuments. Part 1: Use, composition and weathering

Rhenish tuffs from the volcanic Eifel region, Germany, have widely been used as building stone in the Netherlands. Different kinds of tuff (Römer, Weiberner, Ettringer, Riedener) show different kinds of decay, and also within each group, remarkable differences in weathering behaviour occur. In the present study, a short introduction is given to...

Laser cleaning of Rakowicze sandstone

Decisions about the cleaning of natural stone should always be made within the awareness of direct and indirect damage that may be the result of cleaning. During the last decade, laser cleaning of objects and monuments of natural stone has become increasingly popular. Whereas a considerable amount of literature has been devoted to the effect of...