Following clearance of surviving building materials and rubble from the ruins of the war-damaged Goldasta mosque in the Tandoorsazi quarter of the old city of Kabul, the entire structure was documented in detail (drawn and photographs). The first stage of the conservation work entailed removal of unstable parts of brick masonry walling, followed by essential repairs to damaged sections, some of which were re-built with fired bricks. At this stage, detached sections of decorated gypsum plaster were removed from the internal face of walls, before being documented and stored.

A double timber wall-plate was then fixed to along the top of all structural walls, before roof beams were (re)-laid and fixed in place, to mitigate against failure in the event of seismic activity. Timber boards were then laid across these beams, before a traditional layer of mud/ straw was laid over the roof, finished with a water-resistant layer of clayey soil.

The timber colonnade on the east side of the mosque was subsequently dismantled, stone masonry footings re-built and rotten sections of the timber sole-plate replaced. The colonnade was then levelled and reinstated on its distinctive set of marble column bases. Timber boarding (some of which was retrieved from the original structure) was fixed to the ceilings of the winter and summer prayer areas. Work continues on cleaning and repairing the intricate plaster decoration in both parts of the mosque.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture