Towards The Rehabilitation of Al-Qastal Palace

Abstract

This study aims to rehabilitate al-Qastal Palace, an important historical and archeological site, located in the southern of Amman (capital of Jordan), and built in the first half of the eighth-century during the Umayyad period. The importance of this study stems from the fact that all studies conducted so far were limited to the description of the monument ignoring the intrinsic value of its rehabilitation. In this research, the authors visited the al-Qastal palace to investigate the materials used in the building. The study team explored the procedures to restore the palace and present it to visitors.

Samples of the original materials used in the construction of the palace were taken from different locations of the site in order to study some of their more important properties. Results indicate that the mortar joints between the soft stone blocks are the weakest point of the load-bearing walls of the palace.

The analyses used in this study provide guidelines for the conservation of this neglected monument.

Keywords: Umayyad monument, rehabilitation, Qastal, palace, limestone, mortar, construction materials.