Abstract

Water is life and life on earth is linked to water. Our existence is dependent on water in many ways and one could say that
our whole civilization is built on the use of water. The construction of wells and harvesting of water from it was a dominant
feature of human society till the advent of modern era, and is still in remote areas the wells are operational. During the time of
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College (Aligarh Muslim University at present), these wells have played a pivotal role to
quench the thrust of water and other needs. They are part and partial of the built heritage of MAO College. Although, there is a
great attempt to preserve the Sir Syed Hall campus comprising Victoria gate, University, Mosque, and other historical buildings.
However, no one has bothered to include the decimal status of the water well which is also the part of present AMU buildings.
This paper comprises about the present conditions of water wells of the MAO College. This study is to investigate the mineral
composition, mechanical, and chemical cleaning and the restoration of deteriorated sandstone inscription on the water well. It
also includes major factors influencing on deteriorated problems of sandstone. The conservation efficiency was investigated by
scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometer technique.