A Visual Approach to the Damage Diagnosis of Monoliths from the Monquira Archaeological Park - El Infiernito in Colombia

Abstract

Monuments made of natural stones represent an important part of our world’s cultural heritage but deteriorate by the direct or indirect interaction of mineral and stone weathering. Application of damage indices improves stone damage diagnosis and is very appropriate for the determination of necessary preservation procedures as well as the long-term survey and maintenance of stone monuments. The sandstones used at El Infiernito in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, today show weathering damages of partly extreme intensity. In-situ surveys allowed damage mapping which help to identify major causes of damage and to understand their relationship with stone and environment characteristics. In this research, the state of deterioration of the pre-Hispanic phallic monoliths in the Archaeological Park of Monquira "El Infiernito", is presented in the form of monument visual posters. Based on the visualizing of weathering forms at representative monoliths, the state of deterioration is precisely characterized and evaluated. The monument mapping and photographic documentation method can also be useful for reassessing weather damage in the framework of long-term monitoring and maintenance of monuments. This article presents the methodology of mapping weathering forms of stone monuments by using a visual classification system developed over the years with various applications.