Badanie zapraw budowlanych cerkwi w Tmutarakaniu i Kerczu oraz soboru w Kijowie

The author — an expert associated with the USSR Academy of Sciences — deals with the results o f the analysis of the mortars sampled in the Orthodox Church at Tmoutarakan (Tamansky Peninsula) dating from 1023, that at Kerch — built in the beginning of the 10th century, and o f the one in Kiev, erected in the years 1073—1078. On the basis of the findings o f the research discussed — in the course o f which the chemical structure of the mortars was compared and also their content of, respectively, calcium and magnesium carbonate, etc. — the author has classified the examined mortars in consonance with the standards binding in the Soviet Union. The research has revealed an affinity of the mortars of the Orthodox Churches in Tmoutarakan and Kiev and a different character of that sampled at Kerch what results from the composition of the local limestone deposits and identical, or different, methods of mortar production. Now, the high quality of the mortars once used in Kiev was due to the correct proportions o f calcareous cement and crushed brick sand, observed in their preparation.