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Portable in practice: investigations using portable instrumentation for materials analysis and mapping of decorated architectural surfaces in the tablinum of the House of the Bicentenary at Herculaneum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2017

Kiernan Graves ,
David Carson ,
Ilaria Catapano ,
Giacomo Chiari ,
Gianluca Gennarelli ,
Arlen Heginbotham ,
Nicola Masini ,
Francesca Piqué ,
Maria Sileo  and
Leslie Rainer
Kiernan Graves*
Affiliation:
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049USA
David Carson
Affiliation:
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049USA
Ilaria Catapano
Affiliation:
Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment (IREA), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Diocleziano 328, I-80124, Naples, Italy
Giacomo Chiari
Affiliation:
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049USA
Gianluca Gennarelli
Affiliation:
Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment (IREA), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Diocleziano 328, I-80124, Naples, Italy
Arlen Heginbotham
Affiliation:
J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049USA
Nicola Masini
Affiliation:
Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage (IBAM), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), C. da S. Loja, 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ). Italy
Francesca Piqué
Affiliation:
University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Via Pobiette 11, 6928 Manno, Switzerland
Maria Sileo
Affiliation:
Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage (IBAM), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), C. da S. Loja, 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ). Italy
Leslie Rainer
Affiliation:
Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049USA
*
*(Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

The conservation of the architectural surfaces in the tablinum of the House of the Bicentenary at the ancient Roman site of Herculaneum is a collaborative project of the Getty Conservation Institute, the Herculaneum Conservation Project and the Soprintendenza Pompeii. The tablinum was selected as a case study given the significance, beauty, and severe deterioration of its decorated surfaces. A multi-disciplinary team with a wide range of expertise, comprised of conservators, chemists, geo-physicists, engineers, and conservation scientists, worked in partnership across a number of institutions with the objective to study the wall paintings in the tablinum. Scientists and conservators worked together to test the feasibility of portable techniques and in situ investigations to better understand Roman painting technology; identify previous restoration materials; determine the presence of alteration products; and characterize deterioration mechanisms commonly found on architectural surfaces at archaeological sites of the Vesuvian Region. The collection and interpretation of the instrumental data has been critical to the design and implementation of appropriate passive and remedial interventions to stabilize the architectural surfaces and mitigate deterioration. The paper will present the results of the investigations using portable instrumentation along with a discussion of the capabilities and limitations of each technique and the practical implications of their use for architectural surfaces on archaeological sites.

Keywords

archaeologyartx-ray fluorescence
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 2 , Issue 33-34: Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology XI , 2017 , pp. 1831 - 1848
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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References

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