1st Edition
The Conservation of Subterranean Cultural Heritage
In recent years, a debate has arisen concerning the convenience of conserving subterranean cultural heritage and the necessary management models. There is often pressure from local authorities more interested in using the cultural heritage sites in order to develop the economy and the tourism industry rather than in the conservation of the cultural heritage itself. This has caused the managing bodies to reconsider reopening of sites closed due to serious conservation problems.
This proceedings volume contains selected papers presented at the International Workshop "The Conservation of Subterranean Cultural Heritage", held 25-27 March 2014, in Seville, Spain. The workshop was organized by the Spanish Network of Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (TechnoHeritage). The objective of the workshop was to promote an interdisciplinary forum for discussion of all aspects of the conservation of subterranean cultural heritage, providing at the same time an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of the most recent investigations.
This book covers a wide range of scientific dimensions of the conservation and management of caves and necropolises. This state-of-the-art book will be of particular interest to archaeologists, historians, conservationists, cultural heritage specialists, architects, engineers and local and governmental policy-makers. Richly illustrated and including a 16-page full-colour plate section.
The conservation of subterranean cultural heritage: is it a technical problem or a political problem?
C. Saiz-Jimenez
The rock-cut tomb-chapels of Hery and Djehuty on the West Bank of Luxor: history, environment and conservation
J.M. Galan
Excavations and conservation problems in the Roman Necropolis along Via Triumphalis in the Vatican
G. Spinola
Problems of colour preservation in the Etruscan necropolises of Tuscany (Italy): the painted tombs of Chiusi (Siena) and Sovana, Sorano (Grosseto)
M.A. Turchetti, M. Salvini, G. Giachi, P. Pallecchi & P. Tiano
A study for monitoring and conservation in the Roman Catacombs of St. Callistus and Domitilla, Rome (Italy)
L. Bruno, S. Belleza, C. Urzì & F. De Leo
The conservation of the Carmona Necropolis (Sevilla, Spain)
A. Fernandez-Cortes, J. Elez, S. Cuezva, J.C. Cañaveras, D. Benavente, M.A. Rogerio, C. Saiz-Jimenez & S. Sanchez-Moral
Methodological approach to monitor Roman catacombs: experience in the Catacombs of St. Mark, Marcellian and Damasus, Rome, Italy
D. Tapete, F. Fratini, B. Mazzei, E. Cantisani, C. Riminesi, R. Manganelli Del Fà, B. Sacchi, O.A. Cuzman, L. Scaletti, M.G. Patrizi & P. Tiano
Identification of lime-based mural painting techniques in catacombs using well-established criteria of stratigraphic investigation
D. Tapete, R. Piovesan, E. Cantisani, F. Fratini, C. Mazzoli & L. Maritan
New species description, biomineralization processes and biocleaning applications of Roman catacombs-living bacteria
C. Urzi, F. De Leo, L. Bruno, D. Pangallo & L. Krakova
The mural execution technique of the “dei Fornai” cubicle revealed by laser cleaning
R. Senserrich-Espuñes, B. Mazzei, M.G. Patrizi, S. Bracci, M. Realini, B. Sacchi & G. Bartolozzi
Indoors diversity in phototrophic biofilms at St. Paul’s Catacombs (Malta)
A. Gomez-Bolea, I. Alvaro, E. Llop, S. Sammut & M. Hernandez-Marine
Detection of urban subsurface pollution by rapid multiparametric surveys in 16th century Paranhos spring water tunnel (Porto, Portugal)
A. Fernandez-Cortes, E. Sanz-Rubio, A. Sanchez-Malo, S. Cuezva, E. Garcia-Anton, S. Sanchez-Moral, M.J. Afonso, H.I. Chamine & B. Hermosin
Is the presence of bacterial communities related to the urban contamination sources of the 16th century Paranhos spring water tunnel?
A.M. Garcia-Sanchez, A.Z. Miller, V. Jurado, A. Dionisio, V.S.F. Muralha, M.J. Afonso & H.I. Chamine
Microbe-mineral interactions in a Portuguese geo-archaeological site
A.Z. Miller, A. Dionisio, M.E. Lopes, M.J. Afonso & H.I. Chamine
“La vie en rose”: a review of the rosy discoloration of subsurface monuments
G. Piñar, J. Ettenauer & K. Sterflinger
NanoGraphene Oxide: a new material for a non-invasive and non-destructive strategy to remove biofilms from rock surfaces
L. Bruno, L. Quici, I. Ficorella & F. Valentini
Round table on conservation of necropolises, catacombs and tombs
J.M. Galan, G. Spinola, M. Turchetti, L. Bruno & A. Fernandez-Cortes
Microclimatic monitoring in Altamira Cave: Two decades of scientific projects for its conservation
S. Sanchez-Moral, S. Cuezva, E. Garcia-Anton, A. Fernandez-Cortes, J. Elez, D. Benavente & J.C. Cañaveras, V. Jurado, M.A. Rogerio-Candelera & C. Saiz-Jimenez
Altamira and its future
J.A. Lasheras, C. de las Heras & A. Prada
The conservation of Lascaux Cave, France
J.-M. Geneste & M. Mauriac
The conservation of Chauvet Cave, France. The conservation, research organization and the diffusion of knowledge of a cave inaccessible to the public
J.-M. Geneste & M. Bardisa
The conservation of prehistoric caves in Cantabria, Spain
R. Ontañon, V. Bayarri, J. Herrera & R. Gutierrez
The conservation of the Nerja Cave: preserving anthropogenic impact in a tourist cave
Y. del Rosal, C. Liñan & M. Hernandez-Marine
Cueva del Tesoro, Rincón de la Victoria, Málaga: a treasure of biodiversity
V. Jurado, A. Novakova , M. Hernandez-Marine & C. Saiz-Jimenez
Contribution of culture-independent methods to cave aerobiology: the case of Lascaux Cave
P.M. Martin-Sanchez & C. Saiz-Jimenez
Are fungi a real threat for the conservation of Altamira Cave?
A. Novakova, V. Jurado & C. Saiz-Jimenez
Pathogenic microorganisms related to human visits in Altamira Cave, Spain
V. Jurado & L. Laiz, S. Sanchez-Moral & C. Saiz-Jimenez
Microscopic fungi isolated from cave air and sediments in the Nerja Cave – preliminary results
A. Novakova, V. Hubka & C. Saiz-Jimenez
Human impact on show caves: chewing gum stuck to the walls
I. Dominguez-Moñino, V. Jurado, M.A. Rogerio-Candelera & B. Hermosin
Lampenflora as an accompaniment of mass cave tourism, problems and solutions for Postojnska jama, Slovenia
J. Mulec
Microorganisms and the natural heritage of Dinaric karst – a review
L. Pasic & J. Mulaomerovic
Needle-fiber calcite in Kapova Cave (the Southern Urals, Russia): influence on Upper Paleolithic wall paintings and genesis problems
О.Y. Chervyatsova, Y.V. Dublyansky, S.S. Potapov, А.S. Pakhunov, L.V. Leonova, S.P. Glavatskikh, V.S. Zhitenev
Raman Microscopy and IR Imaging of the Palaeolithic Paintings from Kapova Cave, Southern Ural, Russia
A.S. Pakhunov, N.N. Brandt & A.Y. Chikishev
Applications of Raman and Infrared spectroscopies to the research and conservation of subterranean cultural heritage
C. Capel Ferron, S.E. Jorge Villar, F.J. Medianero Soto, J.T. Lopez Navarrete & V. Hernandez
Round table on conservation of caves
J.C. Cañaveras, S. Sanchez-Moral, J.A. Lasheras, J.-M. Geneste, R. Ontañon, Y. del Rosal & M. Hernandez-Marine
Colour plate section
Biography
Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez is a Research Professor at the Institute for Natural Resources and Agricultural Biology, Spanish National Research Council, Seville, Spain. He holds a Ph.D. in Biology (1975) from the University of Madrid, Spain, and in Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences (1987) from the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands. Since 1987 he has received funding from the European Commission, in Environment Research Programmes (1986-1994), Environment and Climate (1995-1998), The City of Tomorrow (1999-2002), and the 6FP and 7FP (2003-2013) as well as from national research programmes. He has participated in a total of 22 European projects and was national coordinator of EUROCARE (EUREKA programme), and Spanish manager of the City of Tomorrow and the Cultural Heritage, Key Action 4 from the European Commission. He is the current coordinator of the Spanish Network for Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. This network comprises over 90 teams from universities, research centres, museums and SMEs. He has written over 450 papers published in international journals, congresses and workshops, as well as edited a number of books on different topics. Most of his research activity is aimed at the study of microbial communities in different terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, biogeochemistry of terrestrial environments, and effects of air pollution on building materials. Particular attention was devoted to cultural heritage deterioration processes by microorganisms. In the last 20 years he has focused his research on the microbiology of subterranean environments (caves, ancient tombs, catacombs, mines). Papers issuing from this research describe e.g. the microbial ecology of caves such as Altamira in Spain, Lascaux in France and Grotta dei Cervi in Italy, microbe-mineral interactions, the biogeochemical cycle of elements, and the biodeterioration of rock art and mural paintings.
