Conserving Stone Heritage: Traditional and Innovative Materials and Techniques (Cultural Heritage Science)

The design of treatments for the conservation of stone in historical buildings and works of art is a challenging task, as a deep understanding of the working properties and performance of the available products and methods is required to tackle complex decay patterns.

The chapters in this book illustrate the state of the art on traditional and innovative materials and methods for stone conservation, examining current trends and future perspectives. Each of them is focused on describing the consequent phases that complement the spectrum of the conservation intervention: preliminary investigations, condition assessment, and mapping of the deterioration patterns; surface cleaning, with a specific focus on laser technology; consolidation; protection; repair mortars and grouts; and onsite assessment and monitoring of conservation treatments. The performance of the applied conservation interventions is criticized and discussed with an aim of providing the specialists with specific tools for stone conservation.  

This book intends to bridge the gap between laboratory studies and conservation interventions, by linking together the diverse scientific areas involved in the preservation of stone heritage. Different case studies are included, highlighting specific conservation challenges and their solutions in order to understand and overcome them. The aim is to guide conservators, conservation scientists and heritage stakeholders in the selection of compatible and sustainable materials and techniques for Conserving Stone Heritage.

Francesca Gherardi is a materials scientist in the Investigative Science team at Historic England, Portsmouth, UK. She received a BSc and MSc in Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage and a PhD in Materials Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy, with a research focused on the set-up of nanostructured protective treatments for stone and paint surfaces of Cultural Heritage. She was a research fellow at the Politecnico di Milano and University of Lincoln, UK, where she was involved in several international projects on the development of innovative conservation methodologies for stones, paintings, and textiles. She has contributed to different editorial and scientific boards as a reviewer, and has published research papers in peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings. Her research interests are the analysis of artworks, archaeological objects and buildings, and conservation treatment strategy development.

Noni Pagona Maravelaki has obtained her PhD in stone decay and conservation from the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy, and her diploma in chemistry from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Chemistry, Greece. She serves as a reviewer in several journals and she has published numerous research papers (more than 120) in peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings. Dr Maravelaki is a full professor and the head of the Materials for Cultural Heritage & Modern Building Lab, School of Architecture, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Crete, Greece. Prof Maravelaki specialises in the synthesis of green materials, physicochemical characterization, and the application of nanostructured and composite materials for the cleaning, protection, and consolidation of historic monuments, as well as the analysis of cultural heritage materials found in archaeological areas.