Gemsofindology GoI
@gemsofindology.bsky.social
In Centre, busting both Raita and Lafda wingers coz they both hide truth. You can help me https://patreon.com/gemsofindology
10/
Cement conservation is not vandalism.
It is 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚.
Until ASI formally enforces lime-based conservation, trains staff accordingly, and audits material choices—not just budgets—irreversible damage will continue under the label of “protection”.
Cement conservation is not vandalism.
It is 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚.
Until ASI formally enforces lime-based conservation, trains staff accordingly, and audits material choices—not just budgets—irreversible damage will continue under the label of “protection”.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
10/
Cement conservation is not vandalism.
It is 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚.
Until ASI formally enforces lime-based conservation, trains staff accordingly, and audits material choices—not just budgets—irreversible damage will continue under the label of “protection”.
Cement conservation is not vandalism.
It is 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚.
Until ASI formally enforces lime-based conservation, trains staff accordingly, and audits material choices—not just budgets—irreversible damage will continue under the label of “protection”.
9/
Once cement damage sets in, the options collapse:
• Removal damages original stone
• Retention accelerates decay
Either way, authenticity is lost.
This is how monuments survive structurally but die materially.
Once cement damage sets in, the options collapse:
• Removal damages original stone
• Retention accelerates decay
Either way, authenticity is lost.
This is how monuments survive structurally but die materially.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
9/
Once cement damage sets in, the options collapse:
• Removal damages original stone
• Retention accelerates decay
Either way, authenticity is lost.
This is how monuments survive structurally but die materially.
Once cement damage sets in, the options collapse:
• Removal damages original stone
• Retention accelerates decay
Either way, authenticity is lost.
This is how monuments survive structurally but die materially.
8/
Why does this persist?
Because cement repairs satisfy administrative checklists:
“Work completed.”
“Structure stabilised.”
“Funds utilised.”
Material science operates on decades.
Files operate on quarters.
Why does this persist?
Because cement repairs satisfy administrative checklists:
“Work completed.”
“Structure stabilised.”
“Funds utilised.”
Material science operates on decades.
Files operate on quarters.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
8/
Why does this persist?
Because cement repairs satisfy administrative checklists:
“Work completed.”
“Structure stabilised.”
“Funds utilised.”
Material science operates on decades.
Files operate on quarters.
Why does this persist?
Because cement repairs satisfy administrative checklists:
“Work completed.”
“Structure stabilised.”
“Funds utilised.”
Material science operates on decades.
Files operate on quarters.
7/
This is not a debate between traditions and modernity.
International conservation charters—including those followed in Europe—explicitly warn against incompatible materials in historic structures.
India knows this.
The manuals even say this.
Practice diverges from principle.
This is not a debate between traditions and modernity.
International conservation charters—including those followed in Europe—explicitly warn against incompatible materials in historic structures.
India knows this.
The manuals even say this.
Practice diverges from principle.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
7/
This is not a debate between traditions and modernity.
International conservation charters—including those followed in Europe—explicitly warn against incompatible materials in historic structures.
India knows this.
The manuals even say this.
Practice diverges from principle.
This is not a debate between traditions and modernity.
International conservation charters—including those followed in Europe—explicitly warn against incompatible materials in historic structures.
India knows this.
The manuals even say this.
Practice diverges from principle.
6/
The damage pattern is consistent across India:
• Stone spalling near cement joints
• Trapped moisture causing salt crystallisation
• Cracks forming where rigid cement meets flexible stone
• Loss of original surface detail
These effects are 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.
The damage pattern is consistent across India:
• Stone spalling near cement joints
• Trapped moisture causing salt crystallisation
• Cracks forming where rigid cement meets flexible stone
• Loss of original surface detail
These effects are 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
6/
The damage pattern is consistent across India:
• Stone spalling near cement joints
• Trapped moisture causing salt crystallisation
• Cracks forming where rigid cement meets flexible stone
• Loss of original surface detail
These effects are 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.
The damage pattern is consistent across India:
• Stone spalling near cement joints
• Trapped moisture causing salt crystallisation
• Cracks forming where rigid cement meets flexible stone
• Loss of original surface detail
These effects are 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.
5/
Post-Independence, this practice continued.
Despite ASI’s own guidelines acknowledging lime as the preferred material, cement repairs became routine—because they are:
• Faster
• Cheaper upfront
• Easier to supervise bureaucratically
Short-term fixes replaced long-term care.
Post-Independence, this practice continued.
Despite ASI’s own guidelines acknowledging lime as the preferred material, cement repairs became routine—because they are:
• Faster
• Cheaper upfront
• Easier to supervise bureaucratically
Short-term fixes replaced long-term care.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
5/
Post-Independence, this practice continued.
Despite ASI’s own guidelines acknowledging lime as the preferred material, cement repairs became routine—because they are:
• Faster
• Cheaper upfront
• Easier to supervise bureaucratically
Short-term fixes replaced long-term care.
Post-Independence, this practice continued.
Despite ASI’s own guidelines acknowledging lime as the preferred material, cement repairs became routine—because they are:
• Faster
• Cheaper upfront
• Easier to supervise bureaucratically
Short-term fixes replaced long-term care.
4/
British-era conservation manuals prioritised:
• Quick stabilisation
• Visual neatness
• Administrative closure
Cement fit that logic perfectly.
Long-term material compatibility was not the priority.
Control was.
British-era conservation manuals prioritised:
• Quick stabilisation
• Visual neatness
• Administrative closure
Cement fit that logic perfectly.
Long-term material compatibility was not the priority.
Control was.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
4/
British-era conservation manuals prioritised:
• Quick stabilisation
• Visual neatness
• Administrative closure
Cement fit that logic perfectly.
Long-term material compatibility was not the priority.
Control was.
British-era conservation manuals prioritised:
• Quick stabilisation
• Visual neatness
• Administrative closure
Cement fit that logic perfectly.
Long-term material compatibility was not the priority.
Control was.
3/
Cement behaves differently.
It is rigid.
It traps moisture.
It creates internal stress.
When cement is applied to lime-built stone, deterioration doesn’t stop.
It 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲.
Cement behaves differently.
It is rigid.
It traps moisture.
It creates internal stress.
When cement is applied to lime-built stone, deterioration doesn’t stop.
It 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
3/
Cement behaves differently.
It is rigid.
It traps moisture.
It creates internal stress.
When cement is applied to lime-built stone, deterioration doesn’t stop.
It 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲.
Cement behaves differently.
It is rigid.
It traps moisture.
It creates internal stress.
When cement is applied to lime-built stone, deterioration doesn’t stop.
It 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲.
2/
Traditional Indian structures were built with 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬.
Lime breathes.
It expands and contracts with temperature.
It allows moisture to escape.
This is not folklore.
It is basic material science.
Traditional Indian structures were built with 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬.
Lime breathes.
It expands and contracts with temperature.
It allows moisture to escape.
This is not folklore.
It is basic material science.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
2/
Traditional Indian structures were built with 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬.
Lime breathes.
It expands and contracts with temperature.
It allows moisture to escape.
This is not folklore.
It is basic material science.
Traditional Indian structures were built with 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬.
Lime breathes.
It expands and contracts with temperature.
It allows moisture to escape.
This is not folklore.
It is basic material science.
1/
#GemsOfASI #4
Cement conservation and irreversible damage.
One material has quietly caused more long-term damage to Indian monuments than weather, time, or worship: 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
#GemsOfASI #4
Cement conservation and irreversible damage.
One material has quietly caused more long-term damage to Indian monuments than weather, time, or worship: 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
1/
#GemsOfASI #4
Cement conservation and irreversible damage.
One material has quietly caused more long-term damage to Indian monuments than weather, time, or worship: 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
#GemsOfASI #4
Cement conservation and irreversible damage.
One material has quietly caused more long-term damage to Indian monuments than weather, time, or worship: 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
Bronze Tara, Nepal.
A goddess.
A protector.
A mother.
Cast in devotion centuries ago by artisans who saw the divine in feminine form.
Now? She sits behind museum glass.
Labeled. Catalogued. Separated from the prayers that gave her meaning.
A goddess.
A protector.
A mother.
Cast in devotion centuries ago by artisans who saw the divine in feminine form.
Now? She sits behind museum glass.
Labeled. Catalogued. Separated from the prayers that gave her meaning.
December 21, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Bronze Tara, Nepal.
A goddess.
A protector.
A mother.
Cast in devotion centuries ago by artisans who saw the divine in feminine form.
Now? She sits behind museum glass.
Labeled. Catalogued. Separated from the prayers that gave her meaning.
A goddess.
A protector.
A mother.
Cast in devotion centuries ago by artisans who saw the divine in feminine form.
Now? She sits behind museum glass.
Labeled. Catalogued. Separated from the prayers that gave her meaning.
Broken noses across temple sculptures.
You know whose signature this is.
/2
You know whose signature this is.
/2
December 21, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Broken noses across temple sculptures.
You know whose signature this is.
/2
You know whose signature this is.
/2
AI restored image of an Indian woman, 10th century CE.
The broken nose?
Proof of her encounter with a desert cult parasite centuries ago.
Iconoclasm left its signature.
/1
The broken nose?
Proof of her encounter with a desert cult parasite centuries ago.
Iconoclasm left its signature.
/1
December 21, 2025 at 11:30 AM
AI restored image of an Indian woman, 10th century CE.
The broken nose?
Proof of her encounter with a desert cult parasite centuries ago.
Iconoclasm left its signature.
/1
The broken nose?
Proof of her encounter with a desert cult parasite centuries ago.
Iconoclasm left its signature.
/1
Aurangzeb’s daughter, Zeb-un-Nissa, was a court favorite. Educated in arts, languages, astronomy, and science, she became a perceptive princess. She remained unmarried, focusing on poetry and a spiritual Sufi journey.
December 21, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Aurangzeb’s daughter, Zeb-un-Nissa, was a court favorite. Educated in arts, languages, astronomy, and science, she became a perceptive princess. She remained unmarried, focusing on poetry and a spiritual Sufi journey.
Original as available in chorfactory @britishmuseum
December 21, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Original as available in chorfactory @britishmuseum
Shiva and Parvati. 1000 CE.
Holding your spouse like this—before your children—would get you scolded today.
Thanks to Victorian modesty police still patrolling our minds.
Pic AI restored and colorised. 🏛️
Holding your spouse like this—before your children—would get you scolded today.
Thanks to Victorian modesty police still patrolling our minds.
Pic AI restored and colorised. 🏛️
December 21, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Shiva and Parvati. 1000 CE.
Holding your spouse like this—before your children—would get you scolded today.
Thanks to Victorian modesty police still patrolling our minds.
Pic AI restored and colorised. 🏛️
Holding your spouse like this—before your children—would get you scolded today.
Thanks to Victorian modesty police still patrolling our minds.
Pic AI restored and colorised. 🏛️
A woman rinsing hairs while a duck looks up. What is the significance of this depiction ? Any thoughts?
Asian Civilisations Museum - by Joy of Museums, for more information, see: www.joyofmuseums.com
Asian Civilisations Museum - by Joy of Museums, for more information, see: www.joyofmuseums.com
December 20, 2025 at 5:30 PM
A woman rinsing hairs while a duck looks up. What is the significance of this depiction ? Any thoughts?
Asian Civilisations Museum - by Joy of Museums, for more information, see: www.joyofmuseums.com
Asian Civilisations Museum - by Joy of Museums, for more information, see: www.joyofmuseums.com
POST 8/8
Final question.
If Paros and Carrara shaped “civilisation”,
why is Makrana treated as a quarry problem?
Marble built empires.
Mountains built marble.
Erase the mountain, and you erase history at its source.
Decolonisation begins at the quarry face. 🪨
#UncropTheTruth #Decolonisation
Final question.
If Paros and Carrara shaped “civilisation”,
why is Makrana treated as a quarry problem?
Marble built empires.
Mountains built marble.
Erase the mountain, and you erase history at its source.
Decolonisation begins at the quarry face. 🪨
#UncropTheTruth #Decolonisation
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
POST 8/8
Final question.
If Paros and Carrara shaped “civilisation”,
why is Makrana treated as a quarry problem?
Marble built empires.
Mountains built marble.
Erase the mountain, and you erase history at its source.
Decolonisation begins at the quarry face. 🪨
#UncropTheTruth #Decolonisation
Final question.
If Paros and Carrara shaped “civilisation”,
why is Makrana treated as a quarry problem?
Marble built empires.
Mountains built marble.
Erase the mountain, and you erase history at its source.
Decolonisation begins at the quarry face. 🪨
#UncropTheTruth #Decolonisation
—
POST 7/8
Marble was never neutral.
It marked gods, kings, tombs, power.
Who controlled marble controlled memory.
Rome knew it.
Greece knew it.
Mughals knew it.
Modern India?
Still debating whether hills deserve existence beyond 100 meters.
POST 7/8
Marble was never neutral.
It marked gods, kings, tombs, power.
Who controlled marble controlled memory.
Rome knew it.
Greece knew it.
Mughals knew it.
Modern India?
Still debating whether hills deserve existence beyond 100 meters.
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
—
POST 7/8
Marble was never neutral.
It marked gods, kings, tombs, power.
Who controlled marble controlled memory.
Rome knew it.
Greece knew it.
Mughals knew it.
Modern India?
Still debating whether hills deserve existence beyond 100 meters.
POST 7/8
Marble was never neutral.
It marked gods, kings, tombs, power.
Who controlled marble controlled memory.
Rome knew it.
Greece knew it.
Mughals knew it.
Modern India?
Still debating whether hills deserve existence beyond 100 meters.
POST 6/8
Science now exposes the lie.
Isotope analysis fingerprints marble sources precisely—Paros vs Pentelic vs Makrana.
Stone doesn’t lie. Textbooks do.
We can trace trade, choice, skill.
Yet policy still treats Aravalli marble as expendable rubble.
Science now exposes the lie.
Isotope analysis fingerprints marble sources precisely—Paros vs Pentelic vs Makrana.
Stone doesn’t lie. Textbooks do.
We can trace trade, choice, skill.
Yet policy still treats Aravalli marble as expendable rubble.
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
POST 6/8
Science now exposes the lie.
Isotope analysis fingerprints marble sources precisely—Paros vs Pentelic vs Makrana.
Stone doesn’t lie. Textbooks do.
We can trace trade, choice, skill.
Yet policy still treats Aravalli marble as expendable rubble.
Science now exposes the lie.
Isotope analysis fingerprints marble sources precisely—Paros vs Pentelic vs Makrana.
Stone doesn’t lie. Textbooks do.
We can trace trade, choice, skill.
Yet policy still treats Aravalli marble as expendable rubble.
POST 5/8
Here’s the inconvenient truth.
Europe documented its marble.
India inherited it.
Greek quarries are “heritage”.
Aravallis are “resources”.
Same stone logic. Different narratives.
One preserved under UNESCO.
One blasted under court affidavits.
Here’s the inconvenient truth.
Europe documented its marble.
India inherited it.
Greek quarries are “heritage”.
Aravallis are “resources”.
Same stone logic. Different narratives.
One preserved under UNESCO.
One blasted under court affidavits.
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
POST 5/8
Here’s the inconvenient truth.
Europe documented its marble.
India inherited it.
Greek quarries are “heritage”.
Aravallis are “resources”.
Same stone logic. Different narratives.
One preserved under UNESCO.
One blasted under court affidavits.
Here’s the inconvenient truth.
Europe documented its marble.
India inherited it.
Greek quarries are “heritage”.
Aravallis are “resources”.
Same stone logic. Different narratives.
One preserved under UNESCO.
One blasted under court affidavits.
—
POST 4/8
India’s marble story is older than Mughal postcards.
Makrana marble—calcitic, dense, water-resistant—was quarried centuries before the Taj.
Jain temples at Mount Abu used it long before Shah Jahan monumentalised it.
But colonial manuals call this “late”.
POST 4/8
India’s marble story is older than Mughal postcards.
Makrana marble—calcitic, dense, water-resistant—was quarried centuries before the Taj.
Jain temples at Mount Abu used it long before Shah Jahan monumentalised it.
But colonial manuals call this “late”.
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
—
POST 4/8
India’s marble story is older than Mughal postcards.
Makrana marble—calcitic, dense, water-resistant—was quarried centuries before the Taj.
Jain temples at Mount Abu used it long before Shah Jahan monumentalised it.
But colonial manuals call this “late”.
POST 4/8
India’s marble story is older than Mughal postcards.
Makrana marble—calcitic, dense, water-resistant—was quarried centuries before the Taj.
Jain temples at Mount Abu used it long before Shah Jahan monumentalised it.
But colonial manuals call this “late”.
POST 3/8
Rome escalated it into extraction empire.
Pliny lists marbles like trophies—Luna (Carrara), Thassos, Proconnesus.
Columns shipped like weapons. Mountains sentenced to damnati ad metalla—forced labour.
This was not beauty.
This was logistics, domination, spectacle.
Sound familiar? 🏛️
Rome escalated it into extraction empire.
Pliny lists marbles like trophies—Luna (Carrara), Thassos, Proconnesus.
Columns shipped like weapons. Mountains sentenced to damnati ad metalla—forced labour.
This was not beauty.
This was logistics, domination, spectacle.
Sound familiar? 🏛️
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
POST 3/8
Rome escalated it into extraction empire.
Pliny lists marbles like trophies—Luna (Carrara), Thassos, Proconnesus.
Columns shipped like weapons. Mountains sentenced to damnati ad metalla—forced labour.
This was not beauty.
This was logistics, domination, spectacle.
Sound familiar? 🏛️
Rome escalated it into extraction empire.
Pliny lists marbles like trophies—Luna (Carrara), Thassos, Proconnesus.
Columns shipped like weapons. Mountains sentenced to damnati ad metalla—forced labour.
This was not beauty.
This was logistics, domination, spectacle.
Sound familiar? 🏛️
POST 2/8
Greece didn’t invent marble.
It industrialised it.
Parian. Pentelic. Quarry scars still visible. Inscriptions record labour, transport, wages.
Marble became statecraft. Gods carved in geology.
Pausing question:
Greece didn’t invent marble.
It industrialised it.
Parian. Pentelic. Quarry scars still visible. Inscriptions record labour, transport, wages.
Marble became statecraft. Gods carved in geology.
Pausing question:
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
POST 2/8
Greece didn’t invent marble.
It industrialised it.
Parian. Pentelic. Quarry scars still visible. Inscriptions record labour, transport, wages.
Marble became statecraft. Gods carved in geology.
Pausing question:
Greece didn’t invent marble.
It industrialised it.
Parian. Pentelic. Quarry scars still visible. Inscriptions record labour, transport, wages.
Marble became statecraft. Gods carved in geology.
Pausing question:
1/8
Marble didn’t begin as “European genius”.
It began as geology, choice, and power.
By 3000 BCE, Cycladic islanders were carving marble bodies from Paros and Naxos—long before Rome learned to copy Greece. White stone wasn’t decoration. It was permanence. Memory made solid.
Marble didn’t begin as “European genius”.
It began as geology, choice, and power.
By 3000 BCE, Cycladic islanders were carving marble bodies from Paros and Naxos—long before Rome learned to copy Greece. White stone wasn’t decoration. It was permanence. Memory made solid.
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
1/8
Marble didn’t begin as “European genius”.
It began as geology, choice, and power.
By 3000 BCE, Cycladic islanders were carving marble bodies from Paros and Naxos—long before Rome learned to copy Greece. White stone wasn’t decoration. It was permanence. Memory made solid.
Marble didn’t begin as “European genius”.
It began as geology, choice, and power.
By 3000 BCE, Cycladic islanders were carving marble bodies from Paros and Naxos—long before Rome learned to copy Greece. White stone wasn’t decoration. It was permanence. Memory made solid.