Geochemical Analysis and Scientific Conservation of The Exterior Surface of The Ancient Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand, India
Geochemical Analysis and Scientific Conservation of The Exterior Surface of The Ancient Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand, India
Geochemical Analysis and Scientific Conservation of The Exterior Surface of The Ancient Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand, India
Conservation methods
Results
Microscopic studies
Figure 2. Two-dimensional microscopic images (10×) of the studied
samples with surface roughness intensity.
Figure 2 shows microscopic images (10×) with surface
roughness intensity of all the four types of stone samples
collected from the temple site. The megascopic features
Figure 1. Megascopic features of rock samples collected from Figure 3. Three-dimensional microscopic images (10×) of the studied
Kedarnath temple and nearby areas. samples with surface roughness intensity.
Figure 7. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the new (a) KDN1 and (b) KDN2 rock powder samples of the temple with theta spacing.
Figure 8. XRD pattern of old (a) KDN1 and (b) KDN2 rock powder samples of the temple with theta spacing.
content with systematic increase in CaO and Na2O. These supply for chemical reactions; this eliminates soluble
data suggest that the rocks were derived from a quartzo- constituents of the minerals27. Studies have shown that K-
feldspathic (granitic) source and the geochemical trends feldspar breaks down and forms secondary clay minerals
match with the characteristics of Archaeon granitic such as illite and kaolinite under extreme weathering con-
rocks18,19. The non-variability of the alumina (Al2O3) in ditions28–35. The weathering of feldspar is represented as
the entire samples were analysed and fall in the range of follows
9.27–14.23 wt%, which suggests a calc-alkaline affinity.
This could also be due to their low Fe–Mg-bearing sili- Feldspar → illite → kaolinite28.
cate mineral. Representative major oxides of all four
samples were almost similar to gneiss-1 and gneiss-2 2KI AlSi3O8 + 2H2O + CO2 →
which were reported by Hussain et al.20 and Adegbuyi et Feldspar
al.21. All tested samples exhibit peraluminous character,
except the new KDN 2 which shows peralkaline charac- Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + K2CO3 + 4SiO2,
ter. This was confirmed by the methods reported in the Kaolinite
literature19,21,22 (Figure 6).
Hard minerals like quartz and albite show huge propor- 6K(AlSi3O8) + 4H2O + 4CO3 →
tions and data of major oxides of all tested samples indi- Orthoclase
cate granitic gniess23 in nature with peraluminous
characters and show similar results as reported by Rut- K2Al4(Si6Al2O20)(OH)4 + 12SiO2 + 4K+ + 4HCO3.
land24. Quartz, the major constituent in all the four sam- Illite
ples, showed higher resistance with respect to pressure,
temperature and deformation. The variations in tempera- 2KAl5Si7O20(OH)4 + 2H2O + 2CO3 + 13H2O →
ture exert significant influence on the disintegration of Illite
rocks. In the Kedarnath area during daytime the rocks get
heated up by the high-intensity sunrays, causing expan- 5Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 4H4SiO4 + 2K + 2HCO3.
sion, while at the night, the temperature falls to sub-zero Kaolinite
levels, causing cooling, which results in contraction of
the rocks. The rapid physical changes due to expansion These types of weathering trends were not found in the
and contraction exerted by the stones of the ancient tested samples of Kedarnath temple. XRD studies reveal
Kedarnath temple decays very easily and crumbles since that quartz, albite, orthoclase, anthroite and K-feldspar
the rock is a bad conductor of heat25. It was also observed are the main primary minerals in all sample profiles.
that minerals within the rocks vary in their rate of expan- These minerals are observed mainly in less-weathered
sion and contraction according to their composition and samples.
chemical characteristics. The cubical expansion of quartz
is twice that of feldspar26. Dark-coloured rocks are sub-
jected to fast changes with temperature compared to light- Conservation issues and treatment
coloured rocks26. The differential expansion of minerals
on a rock surface generates stress between the heated sur- The exterior stone surface of Kedarnath temple had
face and cooled unexpanded parts, resulting in fragmenta- become blackish due to deposition of sandy dust, dirt and
tion of rocks26. However, the presence of less amount of dried vegetation and micro-vegetation growth under
moisture content and water shows the small flexibility of extreme cold weather conditions. Sand and thick dust
minerals which prevents brittleness and surface stress of layers were redeposited on the exterior surface of the
the rocks. Under extreme weather conditions, rainfall temple during and after the natural disaster of June
influences chemical weathering. It controls the moisture 2013 (Figure 9). These depositions provided favourable
Figure 9. Blackish biofilm growing on the exterior surface of the temple after the flash floods encountered.
conditions for the growth of small insects on the stone 3. Durga Rao, K. H. V., Venketshwar Rao, V., Dadhwal, V. K. and
surface. They also tarnished the aesthetic value of the Diwakar, P. G., Kedarnath flash floods: a hydrological and
hydraulic simulation study. Curr. Sci., 2014, 106(4), 598–603.
temple. Such biogenic and micro-vegetation growth se- 4. Caner-Saltık, E. N., Atmospheric weathering of historic monu-
cretes plant acids which digest major oxides of the stones, ments and their related conservation issues. MATEC Web Conf.,
and cause weathering of the stone surface17. 2018, 149, 01009.
The layers of dust, dirt and micro-vegetation growth 5. Siegesmund, S., Weiss, T. and Vollbrecht, A., Natural stone, wea-
were manually removed by applying 2–3% solution of thering phenomena, conservation strategies and case studies:
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suitable mild base with non-ionic detergent with the help 6. Lombillo, I., Thomas, C., Villegas, L., Fernández-Álvarez, J. P.
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The present study shows that the analysed rock samples influence of fliation on the fragility of granitic rocks, image analy-
are granitic gneiss in nature with peraluminous charac- sis and quantitative microscopy. Eng. Geol., 2003, 68(3–4), 275–
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character. The old KDN1 sample acts as a reference and 9. López-Arce, P., Varas-Muriel, M. J., Fernández-Revuelta, B.,
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and preserve its 1200-year-old ancient heritage. The con- 10. Freire-Lista, Martín, D., Fort, R. and Varas-Muriel, M. J., Thermal
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conflict of interest. materials of historical monuments. Appl. Phys. A, 2008, 92, 151–154.
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