Characterization of the Building Materials in the De Lesseps Statue Base and the Church of Saint Eugenie, Port Said, Egypt

The city of Port Said, Egypt, contains many historic buildings that are at risk of deterioration due to natural and human factors. Conservation and preservation plans for these facilities require analytical studies of the building materials used to reach the most appropriate techniques and materials that will be applied in restoration and conservation work. This research will shed light on the chemical and mineral description and the precise composition of the building materials used in the construction of the de Lesseps statue base and the Church of Saint Eugenie in Port Said, which dated back to the nineteenth century AD. The examination and analysis work was based on four techniques: USB digital microscopy, Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM) to determine the precise structure and surface morphology of materials with the use of the EDX unit to determine their constituent elements, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis to determine the chemical elements of materials, and Raman- Spectroscopy analysis to determine the molecular composition of materials. It was concluded that limestone is main material, which used in construction of the de Lesseps statue base, two types were used: micrite limestone and biosparites limestone with the use of a hydraulic lime binding mortar. On the other hand, sandy limestone was used together with red bricks (bricks) in the construction of the Church of Saint-Eugenie, with the use of a cement and sand mortar (marine sand). Lime, gypsum and sand mortar was also used in the cladding of the western facade of the church.