PHYSIO-CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL DETERIORATION OF MONUMENTAL MUD BRICK IN EGYPT.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Prof. Conservation dept., Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt

2 Asses. Lecture Conservation dept., Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt

Abstract

Mud brick made from soil materials widely used in building the earthen buildings dating back to
prehistoric times on wards. The ancient Egyptians had built those unique and historical buildings to
be used as houses, tombs, castles and parts of temples because the raw materials used for
producing mud-brick widely existing in the Nile valley and many other historical sites . The present
research deals with illustrating the technology of manufacturing mud-brick and the inorganic and
organic materials used in this technology. The results obtained by this research showed that the
physio-chemical and mechanical properties of mud-brick greatly varied from site to another. A
scientific survey carried out on different samples of mud-brick collected from the most deteriorated
parts of some historical buildings showed that the physical structure of these samples seriously
collapsed and the samples became fragile materials due to the severe effects of deterioration factors
mainly atmospheric conditions , rain water ,ground water , biological agents ( termites and micro
organisms ) …etc.

Keywords