Question

Conduct research on one of the first built tombs in the world. The selected tomb should have a superstructure. Specifically, focus on the, Evidential, Historical, Aesthetic and Communal Values of the tombs. In other words, determine the specific futures of a tomb in relation to their evidential, historical, aesthetic, and communal values

Architect, architectural features, construction year and duration, construction materials, construction type, structural features, construction purpose and the features that make it different and significant and the importance of the construction for the society should be included and explained under the headings of Evidential, Historical, Aesthetic and Communal Values in the report. You should illustrate your explanations with photographs which should be referred in your report.

Prepare a maximum 350-words long document

Answer 1

The Egyptian Pyramids

The monumental pyramids of Ancient Egypt are perhaps the most famous tombs in the world. The origins of the pyramids were mastabas, Arabic for “benches,” which were mud or brick rectangular structures built over graves during Ancient Egypt's First Dynasty (c. 2925–c. 2775 B.C.).

Historical and Evidential Value

Historical value comes from the elements that connect past people, events, and aspects of life to the present through a place. It refers to the illustrative or associative values of an asset. In practice, however, much of the historical value of an asset is not separable from its evidential value that is based on the evidence of past activities [10]. The tomb does not have an inscription and thus it is difficult to determine its architect and the exact construction time. However, Istanbul cultural heritage and cultural economics inventories indicate that the construction year of the tomb is 1605 [11]. The tomb was built for Nişancı Hamza Paşa, an Ottoman marksman living in the 16th century who was interred in the grave in the tomb on his death in 1605 [12]. Interestingly, this tomb is also known to the public as the “horse grave” as it is believed that the tomb was built for the horse of Sultan Karacaahmet who had a deep affection for his horse with whom he fought in most battles. However, Haskan does not confirm this [12].

Aesthetic Value

The aesthetic value of the tomb is evident. Its plain architectural beauty greets the visitors as soon as they enter the cemetery. As an example of the classical Ottoman style, the tomb has a hemispherical dome (Figures 1 and 2). In most of the Ottoman style monumental structures, the dome, being a significant structural and aesthetic element, dominates the interior as much as it dominates the exterior. The interior of the dome symbolizes the spiritual world by providing space and thus a feeling of ascension to God [13]. The inner high ceiling of the tomb lends a spacious air to the interior giving a sense of the inaccessibility of God (Figure 2). The tambour of the tomb is composed of brick and stone masonry. The brick arches supported by six granite columns harmonize very well and lend a noble air. The plain but glorious look of the tomb accounts for its aesthetic value.

Mechanical Properties of Tomb Materials

One of the major challenges of examining historic structures is the mechanical characterisation of materials for assessment and numerical modelling. Strength and elastic properties of the tomb’s materials, herein, were determined considering the similar structures and based on Schmidt hammer testing due to its rapid, easy, and, most importantly, nondestructive nature (Figure 4). Testing was conducted closely in accordance with EN 12504-2:2012 [21]. During the application of the technique, certain precautions, however, need to be taken; for example, tested stone should be apparently elastic and should not disintegrate under the impact of the hammer and measurements should be carried out on smooth surfaces [22]. Paying attention to these issues, researchers have reported satisfactory correlations between Schmidt hammer rebound number and physical properties of stones [23]. In this study, a device with impact energy of 2.207 Nm was used. Such devices are commonly applied for the determination of stone properties [24]. Based on the hardness of the stone surface, granite, marble, and limestone, properties were determined with acceptable reliability. Empirical correlations suggested by Katz et al. [22] were employed to estimate Young’s modulus, uniaxial compression strength, and unit weight ((2), (3), and (4)). The range of tensile strength values of the materials was also estimated considering the study by Vasconcelos et al. [25] (5). In accordance with Hooke’s Law, shear modulus values were calculated. It should be noted that the aim was to estimate general in situ material properties by the testing despite the heterogeneity of the materials:

Linear Time History Analysis

The effect of earthquake loading is critical. Therefore a step-by-step analysis to determine the dynamic response of the tomb to the Duzce Earthquake loading (Table 1) was conducted. Figure 8 shows the earthquake record and response spectrum. It is seen that the peak ground acceleration of 8.04 m/s2 is quite high while the effect of the relatively high acceleration portion on the structure is relatively short. On the other hand, the response spectrum of the earthquake loading demonstrates that the primary potential resonating frequencies of the ground motion are 2.8 Hz and 8.5 Hz, which is congruent with the ground vibrations of the local site [31]. The frequency of 8.5 Hz is critically close to the tomb’s first two vibration frequencies.

History of Tombs

The earliest tombs were actually houses. In many prehistoric cultures people buried their dead in their own homes with their daily effects, to provide a dwelling and necessities for the deceased in the afterlife. Later people began to bury their dead outside of their homes, but the tombs they constructed were still built to resemble houses. In the Stone Age tombs were typically shaped like houses, with two large vertical stones and another stone slab laid horizontally across them as the “roof.” They too were filled with tools, food and personal possessions necessary for the next life. In Ancient Greece and Rome tombs continued to be furnished with daily effects, but their purpose expanded beyond providing shelter and personal effects for the dead to providing an impressive visual memorial for the living. Ancient Egypt boasted the most remarkable of these memorial tombs: the Great Pyramids. Tombs continued to be constructed throughout the Middle Ages up into the 16th century, when churches themselves often served as tombs. By the Renaissance the practice of building tombs mostly died out in the West and was replaced by the practice of constructing monuments or memorials, often along with funerary urns.

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