The Damage
An inspection of the Madrasa revealed some very severe long-standing problems. The floor of the mosque undulated dramatically, providing evidence of very significant foundation problems of the
masonry vaults supporting the floor. Attempts had been made in the past to underpin the sleeper walls supporting the vaults, these had failed. All of the walls of the mosque exhibited very severe fractures. The problems were brought about by
earthquake damage in October 1992 and by the rising contaminated ground water. Further problems in the external walls had been caused by the activities of the shopkeepers trying to enlarge the space available for selling their wares. As a
consequence, sections of masonry have been demolished at ground floor level to create this additional space.
The net result of the above was that the mosque of al-Ghouri was in a very delicate state of equilibrium. Despite having survived for nearly 500 years, the toll of a rising water table,
earthquakes and neglect had brought this structure to the point of collapse. Urgent measures were required to reintroduce some structural strength and stiffness into the building.
It was understood that the Madrasa was underpinned by using a system of micropiling. The requirement therefore remained to tie the elements of the superstructure together. The very high walls were
laterally unrestrained and very vulnerable to lateral forces such as may be produced by the next earthquake. |
