30TH

Mosaic conservation technicians from the Institut National du Patrimoine stabilizing and completing a large lacuna fill in the underground level mosaic of the Maison de la Chasse
at Bulla Regia in Tunisia. Photo: Christopher Sprinkle, Getty Trust.
Windmill Hill Archive at Waddesdon Estate in
the United Kingdom.
The question for those in attendance was
whether epidemiology (a branch of medical
science that deals with the incidence, distribution,
and control of disease in a population)
can be adapted for improving understanding of
climate-induced damage in objects. The experts
gathered to discuss this question are studying
materials’ behavior in fluctuating climatic
conditions in a variety of projects; this was an
opportunity to share experiences and explore
ways to collaborate in this research.
During the meeting, participants worked
toward an outline of a research methodology.
The consensus was that prospective study
designs (studies in which material response to
fluctuating climatic conditions is monitored in
real time) would provide the most reliable data,
whereas retrospective studies (interpreting current
objects’ conditions by examining a variety
of historic and present data such as images,
reports, and climate documentation) could be
useful for vetting hypotheses.
Participants also discussed sample size
(the number of objects examined to generate
representative data). They agreed that choosing
specific and more sensitive monitoring
techniques allows sample size to be reduced
significantly, to manageable proportions. This
specificity increases the importance of adapting
the mechanical testing techniques of the laboratory
and deploying them in the field.
At the meeting’s end, participants organized
themselves into several working groups that
will explore specific topics in more detail: the
sharing of large amounts of data, mechanical
lab studies and their application in the field, and
communication (including terminology, standards,
and web tools). They also expressed the
desire to collaborate by sharing project data and
the hope of working together in future studies.
bulla regia model
conservation project
In May at the Roman and Byzantine site of
Bulla Regia in Tunisia, the GCI resumed its field
activities to conserve one of the most significant
houses of the period, the Maison de la Chasse,
after recent campaigns were interrupted or postponed
because of security concerns. Together
with technicians and workers from the Institut
National du Patrimoine, the Institute is conserving
and presenting to the public this entire
building using methods that demonstrate best
practices and long-term sustainability.
During this campaign, improvements to
drainage in different rooms were carried out, and
pavement areas previously covered with cement
were provided with new lime mortar layers after
careful removal of the cement. Different methods
are being tested and employed for allowing visitors
to explore and circulate through the house
without walking on the ancient mosaic pavements,
with the aim of reducing damage such
visitation can cause to the fragile remains. Conservation
planning for the hundreds of mosaics
is continuing, as is implementation of emergency
mosaic conservation measures across the site.
Heavy winter rains had caused on-site springs
to overflow, which led to flooding of the under-
34 FALL 2015 | 30TH ANNIVERSARY