Resumen de Suitability criteria for the selection of marble to be used for restoration: application to the Alhambra Palace (Granada, Spain)
Adolfo Miras Ruiz, María Auxiliadora Vázquez González, Emilio Galán Huertos, C. Apostolaki, T. Marcopoulos
This paper presents a comparative geochemical and petrographical study of marbles from Macael and other Andalusian quarries with marbles from the lions and columns in the Courtyard of the Lions in the Alhambra Palace (Granada) and with another Macael marble (MAC-ALH), which was selected to make copies of the lions. The results showed that the Alhambra marbles are comparable to those from Macael quarries. Nevertheless, the marble selected for restoration (MAC-ALH) is not the most suitable, because it has a different fabric (coarser grain size and heterogeneity) and layering with broken crystals and evidence of recrystallization processes. These features may accelerate thermo-hygrometric degradation. A more suitable marble from Macael should be chosen for restoration works in the Alhambra Palace, taking into account the petrographic features and variabilities in the marbles form the same quarry.
