General characteristics of original construction materials used in Karacahisar Castle

The aim of the study is the determine the general characteristics and production technology of construction materials of Karacahisar castle, a medieval castle. For this purpose, physical, mechanical, chemical, mineralogical and petrographical properties of original construction materials, which were obtained in 2012 and 2013, have been examined. At the end of the study, it was determined that there was a very rich fired clay products inventory in the castle. For example, the masonry bricks are divided into thirty two groups, the floor bricks are divided in twelve groups and the roof tiles are classified into three groups. When examine the mortar samples, it was seen that four different khorasan mortar were used in the gate wall of the castle and lime and gypsum based mortars were used in interiour places. It has been determined that, the natural stones, which are the basic building materials of the castle, are olivine scoria basalt type and they were used also in the production of bricks and mortars. The presence of rich basalt deposits in the area, where the castle is located, indicates that the past civilizations had knowledge about these natural stone deposits and they have been given an importance to use of local materials.