• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.471-490
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• 2016

This study investigated provenance of raw materials and making technique of lime-based materials used in the tomb barriers of the Yesan Mokri tombs from Joseon dynasty on the basis of analysis to material characteristics and physical properties. In the barrier materials, dry density and porosity are the highest value ($1.82g/cm^3$) and the lowest value (25.20%) in the south wall of No. 1 tomb, respectively. Dry density and porosity are inversely proportional in all barrier materials, but unconfined compressive strength, which is the highest value of $182.36kg/cm^2$ in the No. 2 tomb, does not show an interrelation with porosity and density. Mineral components in the lime-soil mixtures of the tomb barrier are mainly quartz, feldspar, mica and calcite about 200 to $600{\mu}m$ size with yellowish brown matrix. Hydrotalcite and portlandite are detected in the lime mixture, and kaolinite in the soils. The lime materials of the tomb barrier occurred in large quantities weight loss and variable endothermic peaks caused by decarbonization reaction of $CaCO_3$ in the range from 600 to $800^{\circ}C$ in thermal analysis. Making temperature of lime for the tomb barrier is presumed approximately about $800^{\circ}C$ based on the occurrences, compositions and thermal analysis. The tomb barriers are revealed to very wide composition ranges of major elements and loss-on-ignition (22.5 to 33.6 wt.%) owing to mixture of the three materials (lime, sand and clay). It is interpreted that low quality construction technique was applied as the limes are very heterogeneous mixture with aggregates, and curing of the lime was poorly processed in the tomb barriers. Possible limestone sources are distributed in many areas around the Mokri site where limestone conformation and quarries for commercial production are found within Yesan and Hongseong areas. Therefore, we estimated that raw materials were possibly supplied from the local mines near the Mokri site.