Mechanisms of the Deterioration of the Wall Reliefs at Shenhur Temple, Upper Egypt and Concepts for Conservation

Abstract

The Roman Period temple of Isis at Shenhur was built and enhanced amid the rule of Augustus (30 BCE-14 CE) through that of Trajan (98-117 CE). It was built of two sorts of local limestone and decorated with reliefs. Examination of conservation state uncovered that it was collapsed and only partly preserved and it disposed of some still buried rooms. The temple is exposed to different deteriorations processes created by internal and external stresses because of the mineral composition of the building materials, atmosphere variables, salts crystallization and groundwater. In this study, the deterioration problems of the wall reliefs were examined for the aim of its conservation. For this purpose, the chemical, physical and structural characterization were performed by means of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and observation of thin section by transmitted light optical microscopy (LOM), polarized microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) attached with EDX and thermogravimetric (DTA & TGA). Additionally, microbiological study and chemical analyses of ground water were carried out. Results demonstrated that the deterioration of Shenhur was because of the forceful activity of the environment agents and soluble salts such as chlorides and sulphates. These results and information allowed that the identification of the types of salts and deterioration features might be used in the future for conservation purposes.