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One pier with two stones: A case study on different stones used in the foundation of a Roman bridge on the Batman Stream, Turkey

Year 2022, Volume: 13 Issue: 4, 715 - 722, 03.01.2023

Felat Dursun Fatma Meral Halifeoğlu

https://doi.org/10.24012/dumf.1194052

Abstract

Perpira is a registered ancient bridge, probably constructed during the Late Roman/Early Byzantine, to span the banks of the Batman Stream. The foundations and the piers are the surviving remains of this bridge. Considering the current state, it is known that the bridge has not been repaired since it was discovered. Therefore, the remaining parts of the structure, especially the cut stone blocks, are original and contain precious information about the construction techniques and material selection of the period in which it was constructed. During the site investigations, it has been found that the stones used in the downstream and upstream sections may be different. In order to examine this unique application, samples were collected from the piers' downstream and upstream sections. The samples were then used to evaluate their petrographic, geochemical and engineering properties. At the macro scale, the questioned samples' petrophysical characteristics seem similar. However, the variances in their physicomechanical, petrographic, and mineralogical features indicate that they have distinctly different characteristics. The laboratory results demonstrate that the stone used in the upstream section is dolomite and has a strength of 25.21 MPa and a porosity of 25.38 percent, while the one used in the upstream section has a strength of 59.93 MPa and a porosity of 5.80 percent. According to the experiment results, it can be stated that Romans constructed this structure using highly competent engineering knowledge and material optimization. The findings also highlight how even a single piece of artefacts may provide new insights for understanding ancient material application practices.

Keywords

Bridge Perpira Physical and mechanical properties Roman Stone

Supporting Institution

Dicle University, Scientific Research Project Coordination Office (DÜBAP)

Project Number

MÜHENDISLIK.18.007

Thanks

Acknowledgement The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Dicle University, Scientific Research Project Coordination Office (DÜBAP) under grant number MÜHENDISLIK.18.007; and the conservation company for providing the opportunity to conduct this investigation at the site.

References

  • References
  • [1] J. J. Jensen, "History of Bridges-A philatelic review," in Proceedings of 4th Symposium of Strait Crossings, Bergen, Norway, 2001.
  • [2] C. S. Whitney, Bridges of the World: Their Design and Construction, New York: Courier Corporation, 2003.
  • [3] J. W. Humphrey, J. P. Oleson and A. N. Sherwood, Greek and Roman Technology: A Sourcebook: Annotated Translations of Greek and Latin Texts and Documents, Routledge, 2009.
  • [4] C. O'Connor, "Development in Roman stone arch bridges," Endeavour, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 157-162, 1994.
  • [5] C. O'Connor, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
  • [6] J. P. Adam, Roman building: materials and techniques, Routledge, 2005.
  • [7] A. Álvarez and A. Pitarch , "Local stone used on the Roman bridge of Martorell (Barcelona, Spain)," in Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone. Proceedings of the IX ASMOSIA Conference, Tarragona, 2012.
  • [8] G. Algaze, "A new frontier: First results of the Tigris-Euphrates archaeological reconnaissance project," Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 241-248, 1989. [9] F. Dursun and F. M. Halifeoğlu, “Material Properties of an Ancient Stone Bridge: Perpıra Bridge, Turkey,” in MERSEM-2021, 11th International Marble and Natural Stone Congress and Exhibition of Turkey, Diyarbakır, 2021.
  • [10] B. J. Parker, "The mechanics of empire: The northern frontier of Assyria as a case study in imperial dynamics," The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001.
  • [11] A. M. Comfort, "Roads on the frontier between Rome and Persia: Euphratesia, Osrhoene and Mesopotamia from AD 363 to 602," University of Exeter. (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis), Exeter, 2009.
  • [12] A. Comfort, "Roman bridges of South-East Anatolia," Collection de l'Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité, vol. 1277, no. 2, pp. 315-342, 2013.
  • [13] M. Marciak, "Cultural Landscape of Gordyene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West," in Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene, Brill, 2017, pp. 204-240.
  • [14] ISRM, Rock characterization, testing and monitoring, International Society for Rock Mechanics Suggested Methods, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1981.
  • [15] RILEM, "Recommended tests to measure the deterioration of stone and to assess the effectiveness of treatment methods: Commission 25-PEM," Materials and Structures, vol. 13, no. 75, p. 175–253, 1980.
  • [16] Anon, "Classification of rocks and soils for engineering geological mapping, Part 1: rock and soil materials," Bull. Int. Assoc. Eng. Geol., vol. 19, p. 364–371., 1979.
  • [17] BSI, "Code of Practice for Ground Investigations," British Standard Institution (BS 5930:2015), London, 2015.
  • [18] S. Siegesmund and H. Dürrast, "Physical and Mechanical Properties of Rocks," in Stone in Architecture, Berlin Heidelberg, Springer, 2011, p. 97–225.
  • [19] L. B. Hedrick, S. A. Welsh and J. T. Anderson, "Influences of high-flow events on a stream channel altered by construction of a highway bridge: a case study," Northeastern naturalist, pp. 375-394, 2009.
  • [20] M. H. Strickland, Roman building materials, construction methods, and architecture: The identity of an empire: Clemson University, 2010.
  • [21] Q. Chun, H. Jin and S. Zhang, "Structural performance and seismic response for Chinese ancient stone arch bridge–a case study of the Putang bridge," in Brick and Block Masonry-From Historical to Sustainable Masonry, CRC Press., 2020, pp. 796-800.
  • [22] A. Gaspari, "The Roman and Medieval Bridges over the Sava and Klausenstein Tower at Zidani Most," Varstvo spomenikov, vol. 45, 2010.
  • [23] H. Fouli and I. H. Elsebaie, "Reducing local scour at bridge piers using an upstream subsidiary triangular pillar," Vols. Arab J Geosci 9, 598 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2615-3.

İki taşlı bir payanda: Batman Çayı üzerinde yer alan bir Roma köprüsünün temelinde kullanılan farklı taşlar üzerine bir çalışma

Year 2022, Volume: 13 Issue: 4, 715 - 722, 03.01.2023

Felat Dursun Fatma Meral Halifeoğlu

https://doi.org/10.24012/dumf.1194052

Abstract

Perpira, Batman Çayı kıyılarını geçmek için muhtemelen Geç Roma/Erken Bizans döneminde inşa edilmiş tescilli bir antik köprüdür. Günümüze köprünün sadece temel ve ayaklardan oluşan kalıntıları erişmiştir. Tarihsel kayıtlardan hareketle, köprünün keşfinden bu yana herhangi bir restorasyon veya koruma faaliyetine dahil edilmediği düşünülmektedir. Bu yönüyle, yapının günümüze erişen kısımları, özellikle kesme taş bloklar, özgün olup, inşa edildiği dönemin yapım teknikleri ve malzeme seçimi hakkında değerli bilgiler içermektedir. Alanda yürütülen saha çalışmaları esnasında, köprünün topuk (mansap) ve selyaran (memba) kesimlerinde kullanılan taşların farklı karakterlerde olabileceği tespit edilmiştir. Bu özgün uygulamayı incelemek için köprü ayaklarının topuk ve selyaran bölümlerinden örnekler alınmıştır. Köprü ayağından toplanan bu numuneler, petrografik, jeokimyasal ve mühendislik özelliklerini değerlendirmek amacıyla deneysel çalışmalarda kullanılmıştır. Makro ölçekte, örneklerin petrofiziksel açıdan benzer olduğu gözlenmekle beraber detay analizlerde numunelerin fizikomekanik, petrografik ve mineralojik özellikler açısından belirgin farklılıklar içerdiği tespit edilmiştir. Laboratuvar sonuçları, topuk bölümünde kullanılan taşın dolomit olduğunu, 25.21 MPa mukavemete ve yüzde 25.38 oranında gözenekliliğe sahip olduğunu; buna karşın selyaran bölümünde kullanılan taşın kireçtaşı olduğunu 59.93 MPa mukavemete ve yüzde 5.80 oranında gözenekliliğe sahip olduğunu göstermiştir. Deney sonuçlarına göre Romalıların bu yapıyı son derece yetkin mühendislik bilgisi ve kaynak malzeme optimizasyonunu dikkate alarak inşa ettiklerini göstermektedir. Çalışma kapsamında elde edilen bulgular ayrıca, kalıntı/harabe şeklinde dahi olsa tek bir yapı parçasının bile antik dönem malzeme uygulamalarını anlamak için nasıl değerli veriler taşıyabileceğini göstermiştir.

Keywords

Perpira Fiziksel ve mekanik özellikler Roma Taş Köprü

Project Number

MÜHENDISLIK.18.007

References

  • References
  • [1] J. J. Jensen, "History of Bridges-A philatelic review," in Proceedings of 4th Symposium of Strait Crossings, Bergen, Norway, 2001.
  • [2] C. S. Whitney, Bridges of the World: Their Design and Construction, New York: Courier Corporation, 2003.
  • [3] J. W. Humphrey, J. P. Oleson and A. N. Sherwood, Greek and Roman Technology: A Sourcebook: Annotated Translations of Greek and Latin Texts and Documents, Routledge, 2009.
  • [4] C. O'Connor, "Development in Roman stone arch bridges," Endeavour, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 157-162, 1994.
  • [5] C. O'Connor, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
  • [6] J. P. Adam, Roman building: materials and techniques, Routledge, 2005.
  • [7] A. Álvarez and A. Pitarch , "Local stone used on the Roman bridge of Martorell (Barcelona, Spain)," in Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone. Proceedings of the IX ASMOSIA Conference, Tarragona, 2012.
  • [8] G. Algaze, "A new frontier: First results of the Tigris-Euphrates archaeological reconnaissance project," Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 241-248, 1989. [9] F. Dursun and F. M. Halifeoğlu, “Material Properties of an Ancient Stone Bridge: Perpıra Bridge, Turkey,” in MERSEM-2021, 11th International Marble and Natural Stone Congress and Exhibition of Turkey, Diyarbakır, 2021.
  • [10] B. J. Parker, "The mechanics of empire: The northern frontier of Assyria as a case study in imperial dynamics," The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001.
  • [11] A. M. Comfort, "Roads on the frontier between Rome and Persia: Euphratesia, Osrhoene and Mesopotamia from AD 363 to 602," University of Exeter. (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis), Exeter, 2009.
  • [12] A. Comfort, "Roman bridges of South-East Anatolia," Collection de l'Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité, vol. 1277, no. 2, pp. 315-342, 2013.
  • [13] M. Marciak, "Cultural Landscape of Gordyene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West," in Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene, Brill, 2017, pp. 204-240.
  • [14] ISRM, Rock characterization, testing and monitoring, International Society for Rock Mechanics Suggested Methods, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1981.
  • [15] RILEM, "Recommended tests to measure the deterioration of stone and to assess the effectiveness of treatment methods: Commission 25-PEM," Materials and Structures, vol. 13, no. 75, p. 175–253, 1980.
  • [16] Anon, "Classification of rocks and soils for engineering geological mapping, Part 1: rock and soil materials," Bull. Int. Assoc. Eng. Geol., vol. 19, p. 364–371., 1979.
  • [17] BSI, "Code of Practice for Ground Investigations," British Standard Institution (BS 5930:2015), London, 2015.
  • [18] S. Siegesmund and H. Dürrast, "Physical and Mechanical Properties of Rocks," in Stone in Architecture, Berlin Heidelberg, Springer, 2011, p. 97–225.
  • [19] L. B. Hedrick, S. A. Welsh and J. T. Anderson, "Influences of high-flow events on a stream channel altered by construction of a highway bridge: a case study," Northeastern naturalist, pp. 375-394, 2009.
  • [20] M. H. Strickland, Roman building materials, construction methods, and architecture: The identity of an empire: Clemson University, 2010.
  • [21] Q. Chun, H. Jin and S. Zhang, "Structural performance and seismic response for Chinese ancient stone arch bridge–a case study of the Putang bridge," in Brick and Block Masonry-From Historical to Sustainable Masonry, CRC Press., 2020, pp. 796-800.
  • [22] A. Gaspari, "The Roman and Medieval Bridges over the Sava and Klausenstein Tower at Zidani Most," Varstvo spomenikov, vol. 45, 2010.
  • [23] H. Fouli and I. H. Elsebaie, "Reducing local scour at bridge piers using an upstream subsidiary triangular pillar," Vols. Arab J Geosci 9, 598 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2615-3.
There are 23 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Felat Dursun 0000-0002-8760-3984

Fatma Meral Halifeoğlu 0000-0002-8760-3984

Project Number MÜHENDISLIK.18.007
Early Pub Date December 31, 2022
Publication Date January 3, 2023
Submission Date October 24, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 13 Issue: 4

Cite

IEEE F. Dursun and F. M. Halifeoğlu, “One pier with two stones: A case study on different stones used in the foundation of a Roman bridge on the Batman Stream, Turkey”, DUJE, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 715–722, 2023, doi: 10.24012/dumf.1194052.
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