Introduction to Stone in Historic Buildings Characterization and Performance

Interest in natural building stone, especially as used in historic buildings, is significant. This is demonstrated by the large number of publications that annually appear on stone, its properties, use, behaviour and treatment, and in the conferences on these subjects that are held in all parts of the world. In 2012 and 2013, the 12th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone (New York, USA), CRYSPOM III – Crystallization in Porous Media (Tróia, Portugal), Natural Stone Research and Heritage Stone Designation (Vienna, Austria), the EGU General Assembly Vienna 2012 Monuments under Threat and the International Conference on Built Heritage 2013: Monitoring Conservation Management (Milan, Italy) were held. Besides the proceedings, which usually result from such conferences, numerous other publications on stone and stone buildings regularly find their way into the public domain. Not least amongst these are a number of Geological Society Special Publications (SP) including SP205 Natural Stone, Weathering Phenomena, Conservation Strategies and Case Studies (Siegesmund et al. 2002), SP271 Building Stone Decay: From Diagnosis to Conservation (Přikryl & Smith 2007), SP331 Limestone in the Built Environment: Present-Day Challenges for the Preservation of the Past (Smith et al. 2010) and SP333 Natural Stone Resources for Historical Monuments (Přikryl & Török 2010). This current volume, SP391, seeks to bring to the attention of the various professionals in the field – geologists, architects, engineers, conservators and conservation scientists – recent work centred on the characterization and performance of this important resource, and its use in historic buildings. This volume has wider relevance, including to those interested in the heritage of stone.