Provenance and geological and geomechanical properties of building stones used in the construction of the Lyrbe ancient city (Manavgat, Antalya, Turkey)

Abstract

The Lyrbe, located 12 km northeast of Manavgat (Antalya), is one of the important ancient cities in the Pamphylia Province. Although the history of the city dates back to the Hellenistic period, the settlement mostly belongs to the Roman period. The agora, bath, necropolis church, temples and cisterns are partly survived structures in the city until today. The agora is the most important structure among them and composed of library, archive rooms, temple, fountain and bouleuterion. In this study, the provenance of the conglomerate and sandstone ashlars used in the construction of the Lyrbe city was investigated by analyzing and comparing the petrographic and geotechnical properties of rocks in the city structures and in the quarries. The mineralogical, textural and geotechnical properties of the rocks were obtained. In situ non-destructive test measurements were also carried out on the surface of the building's conglomerate and sandstone ashlars together with in conglomerates and sandstones from documented quarries. The obtained results showed that the different rock samples from both the city structures and quarries have similar geological and index-mechanical properties. The results enabled to identify the provenance of the conglomerate and sandstone ashlars used in the construction of the Lyrbe city. Therefore, this study will contribute for future restoration and conservation works of the Lyrbe ancient city heritage.