Description
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The most recent guidelines of scientific and international cultural heritage protection organisms agree in willing the promotion, protection and in situ (where possible) preservation of underwater archaeological and historical Heritage. In order to be achieved, this new orientation encounters a major difficulty related to the lack of practical application of knowledge and, most of all, of techniques and materials that are especially suitable for underwater conservation. In the past decades, little attention has been devoted to sea conservation studies, since what has always been preferred is the recovery of fine arts in air environments.
The project is focused on the discovery of new materials, techniques and methodologies for the conservation and restoration of marine sites in their natural environment, according to criteria that is normally applied to the existing land Historic monuments. The ultimate goal is to confirm, even for sea conservation, the world leading position in Italy, which is currently recognized in the field of Cultural Heritage conservation and restoration.
In particular, we intend to focus on the degradation processes and methods for the cleaning, conservation and restoration of natural and artificial archaeological stone artefacts which are degraded or at risk due to prolonged immersion in the marine environment.
To achieve these objectives, the key points of the project will cover:
a) Creation of new products for the protection and consolidation of underwater artefacts.
The research will focus on developing new formulations, based on the use of nano-materials for the conservation of natural and artificial stone materials located in the marine environment. Based on the foreground acquaintance, and with reference to subaerial environment, new products will be identified to offer a protective efficacy in the marine environment. In this area, new types of consolidates and protective products , especially considering the degrading effects of actions related to the biological component. In this area, the effectiveness of various types of geotextile covers will be monitored, which are applied on certain manufactured goods, with specific and different procedures.
Moreover, the identification of new, not invasive, cleaning techniques will be carried out.
b) Experiments on immersed specimens
After the development of innovative products, an intense experimental activity will be developed consisting in the construction of two sets of test compounds with different lithotypes (rocks, mortars, tiles): the first series will consist of samples that will be kept unaltered while the second series will consist of samples treated with protectives and consolidates. The objective is to experimentally test the quality and consistency of the pathologies by observing the effects of degrading actions on the processed materials. For the purposes of testing, the specimens will be immersed and positioned at different depths and taken at predetermined intervals.
c) Creation of innovative mechanical devices to operate in marine environments
For the implementation of new materials and for the development of new protection methods, a number of suitable equipments (ROV) will be implemented in order to operate in situations that are not directly managed by qualified personnel. Such situations are caused by the presence of artefacts to be preserved in risk situations, in areas that are not accessible to the operator (non-operational areas, medium and high depth, etc.)
In the second part of the project, which will be conducted in a marine protected area, in situ new products will be tested, and new methods and tools developed. Interventions will be made both with the use of selected and trained restoration operators, and by using the specifically implemented and technologically advanced developed new tools.
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Distribution
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Advancement of distribution in %
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Total amount distributed
4,361,318.40 euro
NOP R&C distributed amount
4,174,204.95 euro
PAC distributed amount
0.00 euro
Amount distributed with other funds 187,113.45 euro
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