Abstract
Weathering of Kimachi-stone, Miocene tuffaceous sandstone, was investigated at Shunko-in Temple of Myoshinji, Kyoto City, Japan. Equotip-hardness, erosion, magnetic susceptibility, and color values of each pagoda were measured in this study. Among the stone pagodas made of Kimachi-stone, about 400 year-old, the pagodas preserved inside a shelter show a little bit lower Equotip-hardness than a fresh Kimachi-stone sample. However, the surface erosion of the pagodas inside the shelter is very slight. On the contrary, the pagodas outside the shelter show various Equotip-hardness but generally even lower than those inside the shelter. Moreover, pagodas outside the shelter are normally much more eroded than those inside the shelter. These results lead us to the conclusion that a shelter can reduce weathering of stone pagodas inside it. Magnetic susceptibilities outside the shelter are lower than those of fresh Kimachi-stone, but those inside the shelter are even higher than those of fresh Kimachi-stone. One of a pair door of the shelter has been lost before, but little difference can be pointed out between the Equotip-hardness of the pagoda that is located in front of the lost door and the other pagoda that is located in front of the remaining door. However, microorganisms, such as lichen, are extremely observed only on the pagoda that is located in front of the lost door. Therefore, the lack of front door may influence also on the physical weathering of the stone pagoda inside the shelter in the future. Both of the pagodas, inside and the outside the shelter, show similar color, which fact suggests that the color change of Kimachi-stone has already reached the saturation during these 400 years.
