Natural stone has taken place in many areas such as tool making, architecture and art in the life of mankind from past to present. The Sarıkaya Thermal Roman Bath located in the district center of Sarıkaya in Yozgat Province, and being one of the representations of natural stone as an architectural work of art in Anatolia, was built in mid-2nd century AD. In the western facade, pools and flooring of the Thermal Roman Bath, preserved to date, marble was used; while limestone was used in interior walls, preserved only at base level, and pool stairs.
Of the natural building stones applied in the construction, it is assumed that marble was extracted from the marble layers of the metamorphic rocks in Bozçaldağ Formation within the Paleozoic-aged Kırşehir Massive, which is located about 1 km south of the district center; and limestone was supplied from the limestone layers within the sedimentary rocks of mid-Miocene-Pliocene period, that are located a few kilometers north-northeast off the district center. Engineering specifications of marble and limestone units believed to have been applied in the construction of Sarıkaya Thermal Roman Bath have been identified using the related TS EN and ISRM standards. Although limestone in the study area is less durable compared to marble in terms of engineering properties such as porosity, rigidity, and compression and surface abrasion resistance; probably, they were used in construction for their specifications such as low cost, workability, heat insulation and asperity. This study and similar ones will be guiding in terms of selection of natural stones from appropriate resources to be used in scope of potential restoration efforts in the Sarıkaya Thermal Roman Bath in future.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Journal Section | Articles |
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Publication Date | March 31, 2019 |
Published in Issue | Year 2019 Volume: 34 Issue: 1 |