Tag Archives: Switzerland

Saltforvitring på kulturminner. Om enkel analyse av salt: Lag din egen kjøkkenlab!

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Per Storemyr

Over er det et bilde av noe du har sett tusen ganger før. Halitt! Vanlig koksalt. Natriumklorid. Ganske enkelt bordsalt. Havsalt! Havet inneholder jo noe sånt som 3,5% oppløst salt. Når pyttene i fjæra får stå i fred noen dager og sola skinner fra skyfri himmel, da lurer saltet seg ut. Sjøvannet fordamper og etterlater seg de fineste krystaller av ren halitt. Sånn laget man koksalt i gamle dager, handlet med det, kriget om det. For uten koksalt kan vi ikke leve. Kanskje fyrte man opp under brede kjeler med sjøvann for å få fordampningen til å gå raskere, kanskje kjøpte man salt fra store saltgruver på Kontinentet. Men prinsippet er det samme: Når saltholdig vann fordamper, da får vi krystallinsk salt. Men hva om du ikke visste at de fine krystallene i fjæra er koksalt? Og hva om du fant noe som lignet på disse krystallene på et ødelagt murmaleri eller en steinskulptur fra middelalderen? Hva gjør krystallene forresten der? Var det de som ødela? Hva gjør du da? Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage destruction, Monument conservation, New projects, Norway, Switzerland, Weathering history | Tagged Cultural heritage, Norway, salt, salt analysis, saltforvitring, Switzerland, weathering | Leave a comment

Happy New Year with a cavalcade of stone images from 2013

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Per Storemyr

I want to thank my readers for following my blog in 2013. Happy New Year to you all!

I really do appreciate your loyalty and I hope to be able to write more articles for you about stone – about quarries, monuments and rock art – in 2014 than I did in 2013. In the year that is soon coming to an end I had to focus on various projects and writing for other media than the internet. Many of the great places that I visited and worked at in 2013 may certainly turn up in future blog posts, so I hope you will continue to follow my writings in 2014. As for now, here’s a cavalcade of images from some of the quarries, monuments and rock art sites that touched me over the past twelve months. They span all of history from the Mesolithic to the Early Modern era. Enjoy the slide show! Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Norway, Old quarries, Rock art, Switzerland | Tagged Ancient Egypt, Cultural heritage, Norway, quarry, rock art, Switzerland | 4 Comments

Would you have liked to live here, at Kropfenstein medieval cave castle?

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Per Storemyr

Switzerland is renowned for its castles and castle ruins, remnants of the feudal Middle Ages. A time when we may not have wanted to live! At least not as common people. But sometimes we may question whether life was much better for the nobility, for society’s elite. Take a look at the remains of Kropfenstein castle, pinned to a vertical cliff in Surselva (Grisons), hardly accessible, away from the nearest village. Great place for a special holiday, you might think – but would you have liked to reside here, year in, year out? – With photo gallery. Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Ruins, Switzerland | Tagged castle, cave castle, Graubünden, Kropfenstein, life in the middle ages, ruin, Surselva, Switzerland | 3 Comments

Quarrying of soft stone through history

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Per Storemyr

Quarrying of soft stone has been done with remarkably uniform methods over the last 5000 years. From Ancient Egypt to modern Norway – soft stone, like sandstone, limestone and soapstone, was nearly always taken from bedrock using chisels or picks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Old quarries | Tagged quarry, Switzerland, Trondheim | Leave a comment

With pickaxe into modern times: Quarrying of Bernese sandstone (CH)

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Per Storemyr

Even until the 1950s the quarrymen in Berne extracted their sandstone using pickaxes. They carved out trenches around the blocks to be removed, not unlike the way their colleagues did 5.000 years ago in ancient Egypt. Why so? Join me … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Old quarries, Switzerland | Tagged Bern, Berner Sandstein, Gurten, Krauchthal, Ostermundigen, quarry, sandstone, Switzerland | 11 Comments

Standing at the edge of the abyss: The castle ruin at Cartatscha in Graubünden (Switzerland)

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Working as a conservation scientist I care for cultural heritage. My “problem” is that I’m also interested in the history of decay, including catastrophic events; just these phenomena that turn old masonry to rubble. But I’ve never seen it “live” … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history | Tagged Cartatscha, Graubünden, historic photos, ruin, Surselva, Switzerland, weathering | Leave a comment

The Mauerzahn at Grünenfels castle ruin (CH) revisited after massive snowfall

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Ten days ago winter arrived in the Swiss Alps with massive snowfall. Subsequent temperature increase and intensive rainfall led to major floods, avalanches and destruction of infrastructure such as villages and roads. Such events sometimes also affect old buildings and … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history | Tagged Graubünden, Grünenfels, ruin, Surselva, Switzerland, weathering | Leave a comment

A Mauerzahn at Grünenfels castle ruin (CH): Surviving 2011?

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Per Storemyr

Switzerland has a wealth of medieval castle ruins. In the Canton of Graübunden they are particularly numerous with, for example, the valley of Vorderrheintal (Surselva) displaying no less than about 50 ruins. Some are almost gone, others are kept in … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history | Tagged Graubünden, Grünenfels, historic photos, ruin, Surselva, Switzerland, weathering | Leave a comment

Tüfels Chilen: Quarrying in the Church of the Devil

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Per Storemyr

Quarrying in the old days was often carried out at astonishing places, leaving very special formations – and legends – behind. The “Devil’s Church” or Tüfels Chilen in the Canton of Zurich is such a remarkable, combined work of nature … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Old quarries, Switzerland | Tagged quarry, Switzerland, Tüfel's Chilen, tufa | Leave a comment

Cooperation with CSC Conservation Science Consulting, Fribourg

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Per Storemyr

From 2008 to August 2010 I worked for CSC Conservation Science Consulting in Fribourg (CH), which is run by Christine Bläuer and Bénédicte Rousset. We undertook several exciting projects together, for example mapping the building stones – the Pierre jaune … Continue reading →