An Investigation of Historical Lime Mortars (Saruj) Case study: Shahzadeha public bath in Isfahan

Having an old civilization, Persia is among important countries in the world with rich architecture. The remains of different historical priods show not only the evolution and transformation of Persian architecture but also the evolution and development of knowledge of static, structure and production of different kinds of building materials. Sustainability of Persian architecture is due to different parameters among which building materials is one of the main principles of monuments’ survival.Persians have used their talents to devise a variety of mortars suitable for the conditions of each building. Due to the smart considerations in mortar production, these mortars are still very well preserved and have not lost their qualities after centuries. This paper investigtes the structure and composition of a special kind of mortar which is very important in choosing the suitable method of coservation and restoration. This mortar is a kind of historical lime one – Saruj – which has been identified and accordingly a method for its preparation has been proposed which is suitable for conservation and restoration purposes.