Analyses minéralogiques sur les peintures altérées de la villa gallo-romaine de Vallon
Publication Type
Original research
Authors
  • Béarat H

The identified pigments in Vallon roman wall painting are : egyptian blue, calcite, goethite, haematite, green earth (céladonite or glauconite) and soot or charcoal. Owing to the fire, these paintings suffered considerable damages : cracking and weakening of the plaster and of the paints and change of some colours. We observe the transition from white to grey, from yellow to red ; from red to a more or less yellowish brown or to black ; from green to grey, to red or to brown and the disappereance of the black paint. After burial in a clayey and wet soil, these paints show different types of alteration : a calcareous patina and a lot of black spots associated with different colours. These spots were found to be iron and manganese oxides, probably produced by bacterial activity. A preliminary chemical test carried out on some treated paint fragments has shown the presence of some traces of the used chemical products.

Journal
Title
Revue d'Archéométrie 17, 65-74.
Publisher
--
Publisher Country
Palestine
Publication Type
Both (Printed and Online)
Volume
--
Year
1993
Pages
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