ESTIMATION OF THE RATE AND MODELING OF THE DESTRUCTION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF THE RIGHT-BANK KHOREZM

Abstract

By comparing historical and contemporary satellite images, estimates of the deterioration rate of five
monumental buildings of the Right-Bank Khorezm were obtained and the approximate dates of their
collapse were determined. It has been revealed that the phenomenon of a monument’s deterioration is
associated with two processes, which can be conditionally called "slow" and "fast".
The first is the gradual slow deterioration of a site over the course of centuries under the influence
of precipitation, wind, and temperature fluctuations. The other process, the rapid deterioration of a
monument, observed over the past few decades is associated with human economic activity, in particular
desert reclamation. It has been established that the main factor influencing the rapid deterioration of
a monument is its proximity to the groundwater level. The higher the groundwater level is, the more
intense is the degradation of the walls.
A mathematical model is proposed to describe the process of deterioration of a monument made of
clay blocks and raw bricks. A numerical estimate can be obtained to identify how deep the drainage
should be to completely mitigate the process of degradation of the monument caused by groundwater.
The proposed model can be used to make decisions on the methods of restoration and conservation of
the object.
It shall be noted that the distance to the groundwater level is very significant although not the only
factor influencing the rapid deterioration of the monument.