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The use of marble wastes in concrete mixtures, causing air and water pollution, has been promoted in the academic and practical spheres of the construction industry. Although the effects of various forms (powder, fine, coarse and mixed) of this waste on the concrete compressive strength has been subject to a decent number of studies in the literature, the difficulties in reaching specific conclusions on the effect of each test parameter constitute a major restraint for the proliferation of the use of marble wastes in the concrete industry. Most of these studies are far from underscoring all of the parameters affecting the concrete compressive strength. Due to the urgent need in the literature for comprehensive studies on concrete mixtures with marble wastes, the results of the axial compression tests on a total of 429 concrete mixtures with marble aggregates were compiled by paying special attention to reporting all test variables (form and content of marble wastes, water–cement ratio, cement content, proportion of coarse and fine aggregates in all aggregates) affecting the concrete strength. In this context, multivariate regression analyses were carried out on the existing test results. These regression analyses yielded to relationships between the change in concrete compressive strength and the test parameters for each and every form of marble waste (powder, fine and coarse aggregate). The study indicated that independent from the form of marble wastes (as powder, fine aggregate or coarse aggregate), aggregate replacements of up to 50% can yield to significant changes in the concrete compressive strength. In addition, the analytical estimates from the developed equations exhibited a high correlation (a least r value of 0.91) with the experimental results from the previous studies, yielding to rather low error values (RMSE value is 5.06 MPa at max). For this reason, the developed equations can consistently predict the changes in concrete compressive strength with varying amounts and forms of the marble aggregates as well as the other test variables.

This archaeometric study investigates the provenance of marble sculptures and architectural elements from the Northwest Quarter of Gerasa, Jordan, spanning the Roman and Byzantine periods. Fourteen samples were analyzed using macroscopic examination and various techniques, including optical and cathodoluminescence microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and mass spectrometry. The results revealed that the coarse-grained dolomitic marble from Thassos-3 Island (Greece) was used for the Roman sculpture of Artemis of the Rospigliosi type, the prestigious fine-grained calcitic Docimian marble (Iscehisar, Turkey) was used for an arm fragment of a Roman statue, while Proconnesian-1 or Parian-2 (Lakkoi, Paros Island) marbles were identified as probable sources for the molding of a wall revetment. Notably, the study revealed that Proconnesian-1 marble (Marmara, Turkey) is the most likely source for the medium- to coarse-grained marble used in eight architectural elements. However, the source of marble for the Byzantine sigma table fragment and the Corinthianizing pilaster capital remains uncertain. Despite the secondary use of these elements, the findings align with previous studies indicating that Proconnesian-1 marble was the primary imported marble source in the region, particularly in Gerasa and other Decapolis cities, during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The study also highlights the widespread use of Thassian-3, Docimian, and Parian marbles during the same period.

This text fully documents an outstanding collection of ancient Roman statues acquired by Henry Blundell of Ince Blundell Hall on his Grand Tour visits to Italy in the late eighteenth century.

Currently, recycling of waste materials in construction is being considered very important because waste generation is posing serious threats to our living environment. Hence, to induce sustainability in the ongoing urban development, researchers around the globe are using numerous wastes in concrete as partial substitutes of binders (cement, lime, etc.) and fillers (fine and coarse aggregates) with the aim of reducing the depletion of natural resources and cutting the carbon dioxide emissions emerging from increased demand and production of cement. This review paper has summarized the findings of literature relating to recycling of marble wastes and ceramic tiles wastes in production of concrete. The physical, fresh-state, and strength properties of concrete were reviewed from available extensive literature, and it was found that the concrete prepared from marble waste and ceramic waste as partial substitution of cement and aggregates is expected to perform at least comparable to conventional cement concrete and better if applicable. Both marble wastes and ceramic tiles wastes can be incorporated and recycled in concrete as cementitious materials and aggregate replacing materials. With such approach, the concrete can be made strong and durable, and the issues relating to depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation can also be solved without compromising sustainability in infrastructure development.

Marble is currently a commonly used material in the building industry, and environmental degradation is an inevitable consequence of its use. Marble waste occurs during the exploitation of deposits using shooting technologies. The obtained elements most mainly often have an irregular geometry and small dimensions, which excludes their use in the stone industry. There is no systematic way of disposing of these massive mounds of waste, which results in the occurrence of landfills and environmental pollution. To mitigate this problem, an effort was made to incorporate waste marble powder into clay bricks. Different percentage proportions of marble powder were considered as a partial substitute for clay, i.e., 5–30%. A total of 105 samples were prepared in order to assess the performance of the prepared marble clay bricks, i.e., their water absorption, bulk density, apparent porosity, salt resistance, and compressive strength. The obtained bricks were 1.3–19.9% lighter than conventional bricks. The bricks with the addition of 5–20% of marble powder had an adequate compressive strength with regards to the values required by international standards. Their compressive strength and bulk density decreased, while their water absorption capacity and porosity improved with an increased content of marble powder. The obtained empirical equations showed good agreement with the experimental results. The use of waste marble powder in the construction industry not only lowers project costs, but also reduces the likelihood of soil erosion and water contamination. This can be seen to be a crucial factor for economic growth in agricultural production.

Stylistic changes in a sculptor’s oeuvre are simultaneously a challenge and a cause of dilemmas for researchers. This is particularly true when attempting to identify the early works of a sculptor while the influence of his teacher was still strong. This article focuses on the Venetian sculptor Giovanni Bonazza (Venice, 1654 – Padua, 1736) and attributes to him numerous new works both in marble and in wood, all of which are of uniform, high quality. Bonazza’s teacher was the sculptor Michele Fabris, called l’Ongaro (Bratislava, c.1644 – Venice, 1684), to whom the author of the article attributes a marble statue of Our Lady of the Rosary on the island of San Servolo, in the Venetian lagoon, which has until now been ascribed to Bonazza. The marble bust of Giovanni Arsenio Priuli, the podestat of Koper, is also attributed to the earliest phase of Bonazza’s work; it was set up on the façade of the Praetorian Palace at Koper in 1679. This bust is the earliest known portrait piece sculpted by the twenty-five-year old artist. The marble relief depicting the head of the Virgin, in the hospice of Santa Maria dei Derelitti, ought to be dated to the 1690s. The marble statue of the Virgin and Child located on the garden wall by the Ponte Trevisan bridge in Venice can be recognized as Bonazza’s work from the early years of the eighteenth century and as an important link in the chronological chain of several similar statues he sculpted during his fruitful career. Bonazza is also the sculptor of the marble busts of the young St John and Mary from the library of the monastery of San Lazzaro on the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in the Venetian lagoon, but also the bust of Christ from the collection at Castel Thun in the Trentino-Alto Adige region; they can all be dated to the 1710s or the 1720s. The article pays special attention to a masterpiece which has not been identified as the work of Giovanni Bonazza until now: the processional wooden crucifix from the church of Sant’Andrea in Padua, which can be dated to the 1700s and which, therefore, precedes three other wooden crucifixes that have been identified as his. Another work attributed to Bonazza is a large wooden gloriole with clouds, cherubs and a putto, above the altar in the Giustachini chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine at Padua. The article attributes two stone angels and a putto on the attic storey of the high altar in the church of Santa Caterina on the island of Mazzorbo in the Venetian lagoon to Giovanni’s son Francesco Bonazza (Venice, c.1695 – 1770). Finally, Antonio Bonazza (Padua, 1698 – 1763), the most talented and well-known of Giovanni Bonazza’s sons, is identified as the sculptor of the exceptionally beautiful marble tabernacle on the high altar of the parish church at Kali on the island of Ugljan. The sculptures which the author of the article attributes to the Bonazza family and to Giovanni Bonazza’s teacher, l’Ongaro, demonstrate that the oeuvres of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Venetian masters are far from being closed and that we are far from knowing the final the number of their works. Moreover, it has to be said that not much is known about Giovanni’s works in wood which is why every new addition to his oeuvre with regard to this medium is important since it fills the gaps in a complex and stylistically varied production of this great Venetian sculptor.

The use of ultrasonic methods for a non-destructive investigation of immovable, high-ranking cultural heritage, landmark buildings, and sculptures made of natural stone, has developed into the state-of-the-art testing throughout the last 20 years. This routinely applied transmission method gives information about the rock as a whole, but no detailed information concerning the internal structures. Onsite measurements have been executed in a tomographic approach for a marble obelisk in the Neuer Garten, Potsdam (Germany) to obtain an assessment on its internal weathering conditions. Detailed mapping of macroscopically visible structures and weathering phenomena has been performed on a scale of 1:1, to prove the validity of this data. The rock properties for the same marble variety were examined under laboratory conditions to gain data on their directional dependence, influencing factors like water content and artificial weathering behaviour. These results were used to cross check the ultrasonic measurements onsite and the tests under laboratory conditions, to obtain a reliable interpretation. The ultrasonic velocity distributions measured under defined conditions, revealed a possible anisotropy between 9 and 30%, which is a basic input parameter for the calculated tomograms. The synthetic tomograms clearly show the great impact of anisotropy considering the velocity distribution modelled for the measured planes. Based on the laboratory data, an amount of 20% anisotropy was applied to the tomograms, which improved the ability to distinguish the velocity variation due to deterioration from that caused by rock fabric. The results demonstrate that the rock fabric and its anisotropy need to be considered for interpreting the tomographic investigation. Before an adequate assertion can be made, the above influences must be considered as a basis for conservation purposes.