PEREIRA, ANDRÉ1; DIONÍSIO, AMÉLIA2; CARVALHO, ANABELA3, CARVALHO, VÂNIA4

1) MSc Student, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Departamento de Conservação e Restauro, pereira.andr21@gmail.com

2) Professor, Instituto Superior Técnico, CERENA/CEPGIST, Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Georecursos, Universidade de Lisboa, amelia.dionisio@ist.utl.pt

3) Conservator, Departamento de Cultura, Desporto e Juventude, Câmara Municipal de Leiria, anagomescarvalho@gmail.com

4) Archaeologist, Departamento de Cultura, Desporto e Juventude, Câmara Municipal de Leiria, vcarvalho@cm-leiria.pt

Today experts agree that a precise damage diagnosis is the key to comprehensive characterization, interpretation, rating and prediction of stone damage. So, the preservation of the Architectural Heritage must be faced under an interdisciplinary perspective gathering the knowledge of different subjects such as Archaeology, Conservation and Restoration, Art’s History, Geology, Engineering and Architecture.

The aims of this paper are: (i) present the results of a bibliographic survey regarding the origin and conservation and restoration interventions and (ii) characterize stone materials applied in the different periods of this historical building. Several samples were collected from different sites and a set of tests was carried out, including chemical and micro-structural tests.

The multidisciplinary approach was a powerful tool in checking historical sources on the provenance of the stone materials. Comparisons between samples from the Paços Novos and homologous samples from ancient quarries and zones of excavation revealed a provenance from a quite narrow zone, within kilometres ranging from 1 km to 31 km away from the Castle of Leiria. Basically two main stone types were identified: dolerite and limestone with different grain sizes and/or textures.

Keywords: masonry, stone, historical quarries, decay, characterization, conservation.