Deterioration of carbonate rocks used for archeological monuments in Tauric Chersonesos (Crimea)

Abstract

The paper presents the mineralogy and petrography of the Proconesian marble and Chersonesian limestone used as building materials from Antiquity to the medieval times in the Tauric Chersonesos, Crimea. The deterioration process, due to the modern time's pollution and the climatic factors, is represented by forming of mainly gypsum-rich patina. The ubiquitous presence of micromycetes favors the stone decay.