STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ASHLAR ROMAN WATCHTOWERS IN CILICIA REGION, ANATOLIA

Abstract

Depending on requirements of the building type, ashlar masonry (that is a masonry technique composed of

rectangular blocks); varies in terms of dimension of blocks, staggering ratio, wall profile, etc. Determination

of impact of these variables on resistance is critical for the intervention decision process and sustainability of

integrity and authenticity of dry masonry constructions. Therefore, the aim of the study is to determine

characteristics effecting structural resistance and failure mechanisms of ashlar Cilician dry masonry

watchtowers under lateral loading by quasi-static tilt analysis. Thus, the towers were documented in detail

by traditional documentation techniques, the type of stone material were determined by Scanning Electron

Microscope (SEM) equipped with X-Ray Energy Dispersive System (EDS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD)

analysis to identify friction coefficient and density values of stones to be used in simulation. Then virtual

towers designed based on caharacteristics of case study towers were analysed by quasi-static tilting method.

The towers present differences in terms of staggering ratio, which is the ratio between horizontal distance

between joints (s) and height of the related course (h), and proportional relationship between heigth (H) and

length (L) of the tower. Consequently, it is seen that staggering ratio affected out-plane resistance of the

towers, increase in staggering ratio increased structural resistance. High staggering ratio (s/bh=1.4)

provided total behavior. When the H/L ratio increased (H/L ≥2), the collapse angle of the towers decreased

and slenderness of the towers increased, bending was observed. These results demonstrate that ancient

masons were probably aware of structural precautions for resistance, they tried to use these techniques

within the limits of the sources of the area.