Conservation of Four Grave Steles from the Khan’s Shrine in the Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve

Abstract

The paper considers a conservation experience of several epigraphic limestone monuments. All the monuments were from the collection of the Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. The conservation project was carried out with an aim to create a new lapidary exposition on the territory of the museum-reserve. Among the monuments, restored for the projected lapidarium, the most difficult to conserve were four grave steles from the Khan's shrine, dating back to the XIII -XIV centuries. One of the reasons for the intense destruction of monuments was the presence of water-soluble salts, which the authors associate with the design features of the architectural monument and the chosen method of exhibiting. Studies to determine the composition of salts revealed sulfate-containing salts in the structure of the stone. The article describes the process of preparation for the exhibition of these monuments and describes applied conservation methods.

Keywords

• archaeology
• conservation
• middle ages
• bolgar
• museum-reserve
• lapidarium
• grave steles