Heritage science focussed on conflict damage is an emergent field, thrust into the limelight by the deliberate deformation and destruction of heritage across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Events at these sites have taken centre stage in public awareness of heritage at risk through conflict, while ongoing conflicts continue to inflict untold damage to heritage. This collaborative UWE Bristol and Sheffield Hallam University project focusses on stone-built heritage, where exposure to ballistic and/or explosive impacts creates craters as well as subsurface fracture networks and loss of stone matrix density. While stone is a resilient and durable building material in comparison to weaker materials (e.g. wood), it does deteriorate when exposed to stress such as temperature change and moisture movement. Stone-built heritage sites are therefore at risk of natural deterioration, which is substantially accelerated when high-energy events (e.g. a ballistic projectile or blast) impacts the surface. Sensitive and sustainable in situ consolidation techniques to stabilise damaged stonework are therefore urgently needed, that are compatible with the stonework characteristics, the nature of the damage, and the changing climatic conditions the stonework is subjected to. The PhD candidate work within the Heritage in the Crossfire team and will use a combination of laboratory tests, fieldwork, and local co-production of knowledge to develop a conservation methodology that works across the most commonly used types of sedimentary stone (sandstone and limestone) and is adaptive enough to cope with changing stresses, while also low-cost and low-tech to facilitate uptake of the technique in conflict areas where resources are limited.
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