RESTORATION STRATEGY FOR DISMANTLE AND RECONSTRUCT STONE WALL RUIN AT DEDAN SITE, KING SAUD UNIVERSITY EXCAVATIONS, AL-’ULA, SAUDI ARABIA: A CASE STUDY

Different archaeological ruins (walls, floors, and architectural details) have been discovered
at Dedan site "Al-Khraibeh" through king Saud University excavation in 2008. Most of these
ruins suffer from deterioration factors. Leanings of Dedan walls have been observed toward
the west direction, one of these walls was in critical case. Therefore the restoration process
should be immediately carried out to save this archaeological wall from collapsing.
Documentation, investigation, analysis and diagnosis were carried out in order to determine
the wall condition and conservation strategy. To diagnose the current status of the leaning
wall same examination and analysis methods were used, optical microscope (OM), polarized
microscope (PM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with (EDS), x-ray diffraction
(XRD), and soil classification. Deterioration aspects e.g. flaking, separation and
fragmentation have been noticed,clay mortar was used to cement the stone blocks. Dedan
soil was classified as silty clay soil (CL-ML). a correct diagnosis always depends on data and
correct results, which is the first step of conservation strategy. This paper deal with the
restoration and conservation methodology for dismantle and reconstruct the leaning stone
wall.