A PRELIMINARY. STUDY OF THE PRESENT CONDITION ON THE MARBLE REVETMENT IN HAGIA SOPHIA

Abstract

For the future conservation of the marble revetment in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, this paper aims at describing the present conditions of the marbles, and presenting new perspective on the material-architectural study of the church. By reviewing previous works on the restoration of Hagia Sophia, and through the preliminary investigation done by the team including the auther herself, this paper clarifies 1) the classification of the marbles, 2) characteristics in the setting and the placing of marble slabs on the wall, and 3) present situations with causes of decay. Through this research, it has also been proposed the necessity of multidisciplinary discussion about the systematic analysis for the marble revetment as a material of historic architecture.