[en] This paper is a comprehensive analytical study of the murals belonging to an ancient Roman house through the characterization of materials. The project focuses on the wall paintings of the Domus dei bucranes, a house of the end of the Republican era discovered on the site of the Schola of Trajan in Ostia. This Domus has undergone several phases of development in the 1st century BC before being destroyed around 20 BC. A new house was immediately rebuilt after a major change from the ground, which allowed exceptional preservation of the decoration system. The results complement our knowledge of Roman painting techniques during the 1st century BC and also provide a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to the problem of conservation of wall paintings. These two related objectives have been studied using non-destructive testing methods (MA-XRF, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy). The analyzes have been performed in situ using our mobile systems. The different set-ups had to be modified in order to be able to work on horizontal surfaces, specially our XRF scanner. The study of the pictorial layers address various issues in the field of archaeology: what technique has been implemented? Does the same technique was used in both phases of the development of Domus? Do they correspond to the techniques described by ancient writers? These responses are compared to those observed in other sets of murals dating from the 1st century BC.
Research center :
AAP - Art, Archéologie et Patrimoine - ULiège CEA - Centre Européen en Archéométrie - ULiège
Disciplines :
Arts & humanities: Multidisciplinary, general & others Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences: Multidisciplinary, general & others Physics Archaeology
Author, co-author :
Strivay, David ; Université de Liège > Département de physique > Spectroscopie atomique et nucléaire, archéométrie
Herens, Elodie ; Université de Liège > Département de physique > Spectroscopie atomique et nucléaire, archéométrie
Morard, Thomas ; Université de Liège > Département des sciences historiques > Histoire de l'art et arch. de l'antiquité gréco-romaine
Defeyt, Catherine ; Université de Liège > Département de physique > Spectroscopie atomique et nucléaire, archéométrie
Language :
English
Title :
Non-Invasive Analysis of Mural Painting from a Late-Republican House (1st century B.C.) in Ostia
Publication date :
May 2017
Event name :
Technart 2017 - Non-destructive and microanalytical techniques in art and cultural heritage