ABSTRACT
Clay soils are widespread in Syria. Due to their shortcomings, the need for stabilization is becoming increasingly urgent. The improvement of swelling soils is becoming very important for the archaeological sites belonging to the ancient civilizations of Syria. These buildings are mostly lightly loaded structures, consisting of domes and stone walls based on strip foundations. Therefore, expansive soils can cause significant damage to these structures. This paper presents some historical monuments in Syria with a description of their typical foundations and the main geotechnical parameters. In this paper, the effect of additives of mixtures of polypropylene fibers with lime on improving the building properties of swelling soils will be discussed. The aim of using this type of material is to improve the performance of the ground without affecting the historical mission of the building. Additives of mixtures of polypropylene fibers with lime reduce plasticity index, increases workability and shrinkage limit, reduces shrinkage cracking, eliminates almost all swelling problems, and increases the soil strength.
