Supervisor: Prof. Maria Perla Colombini

Title: Chemical innovative procedures to preserve degraded wooden objects

Abstract: The evaluation of the conservation state of archeological wood and, more generally, of degraded historical and architectural wood, is a very important problem, because since ancient times wood has been widespreadly used for many purposes. The conservation of wooden artifacts is an actual challenge for chemists: big archeological finds such as Vasa and Oseberg Viking ships and the roof of the House of Telephus Relief in Herculaneum, require not only the chemical knowledge of constitutive materials, but also the description of their degradation state to choose a conscious and durable consolidation method.
Wood undergoes several degradation processes depending mainly on the conservation environment: waterlogged wood is the most studied. A lot of conservative treatments have been tested (alum, colophony, PEG, in situ polymerization) with the aim to replace water in the cavities with a penetrating material having a rather low vapor pressure, but during ageing most of the methods show problems such as change of pH, lack of penetration, presence of metal ions and so on.
Thus, it is necessary to study chemical methods for the removal of old applied products and to investigate the effect of the application of new materials.

The instrumental techniques can be used for these purposes:
• transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM-EDS) for a characterization of wood at microscopic level to obtain information on morphology, wood species, degradation state and effects of consolidation treatments;
• X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray microtomography (µ-CT) to understand the structure of wood at cellular level, highlight the presence of heteroatoms and map wood sections with a micrometric resolution;
• infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to investigate the changes in the linkages between wood polymers and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to obtain information on the degradation state and the differences between wood species;
• analytical pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), which has the advantages to require minimal sample pretreatment and very low amount of sample, to distinguish different kinds of wood, analyze separately wooden components (lignin and cellulose), evaluate the degradation state at semi-quantitative level.

Therefore the research on archeological wood involves several aspects: optimization of analytical methods, study of reference and archeological woods, investigation of new materials for conservation and consolidation, touching different fields of chemistry and representing an interesting challenge.

Articles:

S. Braovac, D. Tamburini, J. J. Łucejko, C. McQueen, H. Kutzke, M. P. Colombini
“Chemical analyses of extremely degraded wood using analytical pyrolysis and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy” MIcrochemical Journal. Accepted

D. Tamburini, I. Bonaduce, M. P. Colombini.
“Characterisation of oriental lacquers from Rhus Succedanea and Melanorrhoea Usitata using in situ pyrolysis/silylation-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry”
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis. Accepted.

D. Tamburini, J.J. Łucejko, E. Ribechini, M.P. Colombini.
“Snapshots of lignin oxidation and depolymerization in archaeological wood: an EGA-MS study.”
Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 2015, 50(10), 1103-1113. Featured article.

D. Tamburini, J.J. Łucejko, M. Zborowska, F. Modugno, W. Prądzyński, M.P. Colombini.
“Archaeological wood degradation at the site of Biskupin (Poland): wet chemical analysis and evaluation of specific Py-GC/MS profiles.”
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2015, 115, 7-15

J. J. Łucejko, F.Modugno, E. Ribechini, D.Tamburini, M.P: Colombini.
“Analytical instrumental techniques to study archaeological wood degradation.”
Applied Spectroscopy Reviews, 2015. 50(7): p. 584-625.

D.Tamburini, I.Bonaduce, M.P. Colombini.
“Characterization and identification of urushi using in situ pyrolysis/silylation–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.”
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2015, 111, 33-40.

Oral presentation at congress:
D. Tamburini, J. J. Łucejko, F. Modugno, M. P. Colombini, H. Kutzke, S. Braovac, M. Mortensen, G. Chaumat, F. Gambineri.
“The ArCo Project - Ageing Study of Treated Composite Archaeological Waterlogged Artefacts - preliminary results.”
Condition 2015. 19-22 May 2015. Gdansk, Poland
Oral presentation at congress:
D. Tamburini, S. Braovac, J. J. Łucejko, F. Modugno, C. McQueen, H. Kutzke, M. P. Colombini.
“Chemical analysis of degraded wood by Py-GC/MS and ICP-AES.”
Technart 2015. 27–30 April 2015. Catania, Italy
Oral presentation at congress:
D. Tamburini, J. J. Łucejko, .F Modugno, M. P. Colombini.
“Investigation of treated composite archaeological wood artifacts using synchrotron radiation infrared spectroscopy.” Year of light-the chemical point of view 2015. 9-10 February 2015. Pisa, Italy
Poster communications at congress:
Authors: M. Zborowska, J.J. Lucejko, L. Babiński, D.Tamburini, M.P.Colomnbini, B. Waliszewska, W.Prądzyński
“Analyses of the degree of degradation in wet archaeological wood from Biskupin: Characteristics provided by conventional and instrumental methods”
Congress Heritage wood: research and conservation in the 21st century 2014
Poster communications at congress:
Authors: D. Tamburini, J. J. Lucejko, F. Modugno, M.P. Colombini
“Identification of the organic materials used on painted archaeological wood from Herculaneum”
Congress Heritage wood: research and conservation in the 21st century 2014
Poster communications at congress:
Authors: D.Tamburini, J.J. Lucejko, M. Zborowska, M.P.Colomnbini, B. Waliszewska, W.Prądzyński
“The examination of dynamics of oak wood degradation process in the wet peat and lake water conditions”
Congress International Symposium on Archaeometry 2014
Poster communications at congress:
Authors: F. Modugno, D. Tamburini, J.J. Łucejko, H. Kutzke, S. Braovac, M.P. Colombini
“ArCo Project and Saving Oseberg Project: chemical investigations to preserve archaeological wooden objects”
XXV National Congress of the Italian Chemical Society "SCI2014"
Poster communications at congress:
Authors: D. Tamburini, E. Ribechini, J. J. Łucejko, M. P. Colombini
“The study of wood by Direct Exposure Mass Spectrometry (DE-MS): comparison between electronic and chemical ionization”
XXV National Congress of the Italian Chemical Society "SCI2014"
Poster communication at congress:
"Characterisation of qi-lacquer in archeological samples by means of in-situ
thermally assisted Pyrolysis/sylilation-GC/MS"
Authors: D. Tamburini, I.Bonaduce, C.Blaensdorf, M.P.Colombini
Congress VII AIAr Congress 2012
Poster communication at congress:
"Telephus Roof Project: characterisation of waterlogged wood by pyrolytic
and mass spectrometric techniques"
Authors J.Lucejko, F.Modugno, D.Tamburini, M.P.Colombini
Congress 39th International Symposium of Archeometry ISA 2012
Poster communication at congress:
"Saving Oseberg – Research for preservation"
Authors S. Braovac, J.Lucejko, D.Tamburini, H. Kutzke, M.P.Colombini
Congress BWWP 2013
Poster communication at congress:
"The examination of dynamics of wood degradation process in the wet peat
and lake water conditions"
Authors M. Zborowska, J. Lucejko, L. Babiński, B. Waliszewska,
F. Modugno, D.Tamburini, M. P. Colombini
Congress BWWP 2013
Oral presentation at congress:
"Characterisation of archaeological waterlogged wood from Herculaneum
by Pyrolysis and Mass Spectrometry"
Congress BWWP 2013
Oral communications at congress:
“Characterisation of archaeological waterlogged wood from Herculaneum by Pyrolysis and Mass Spectrometry”
Congress Heritage wood: research and conservation in the 21st century 2014
Oral communications at congress:
“The Herculaneum Conservation Project: characterisation of archaeological waterlogged wood by pyrolytic and mass spectrometric techniques”
Congress VIII Aiar Congress 2014
Journal articles:
Authors: D. Tamburini, J. J. Lucejko, F. Modugno, M.P. Colombini
“Characterisation of archaeological waterlogged wood from Herculaneum by Pyrolysis and Mass Spectrometry”
International biodeterioration and biodegradation 86 (2014) p.142-149
Journal articles:
Authors: D.Tamburini, J.J. Lucejko, F.Modugno, M.P.Colombini, P.Pallecchi, G.Giachi
“Microscopic techniques (LM, SEM) and a multi-analytical approach (EDX, FTIR, GC/MS, Py-GC/MS) to characterise the decoration technique of the wooden ceiling of the House of the Telephus Relief in Herculaneum (Italy)”
Microchemical Journal, 116 (2014) 7-14