The work performed in the project is divided into five work packages (WP).
WP1 focused on Objective 1 and concerned the characterization of VBM. Five VBM and fifteen mixes were selected to investigate their properties, including cyclododecane, cyclododecanone, cyclododecanol, camphene, menthol, and mixes. The selection of the pure VBM was made based on their melting point, sublimation, flashpoint, compatibility, and health-related issues. The workability of the melted mixes was first considered, while their characterization was carried out by DSC, TGA, FT-IR, XRD, microscope.
The melted VBM were applied on different substrates, including Lecce limestone, Carrara marble and glass slide, to monitor their sublimation speed at 20°C and 30°C, in view of real applications. The presence of residue was investigated after sublimation to detect possible chemical reactions between VBM and substrates. No residues were found by FT-IR, but some small spots of remains were found by fluorescent microscopy.
WP2 focused on assessing the behavior of the most promising VBM and mixes on artificially deteriorated painted pottery, painted mortar, painted plaster, and limestone (objective 2). The penetration depth of the consolidants was assessed on substrates and sands. The binding capacity of the products was investigated by measuring the compressive strength of mixes of VBM and sand.
WP3 focused on the practical application of the selected VBM to 3 real archaeological and historical elements, in Bologna and in Marseille.
WP4 focused on Management and Dissemination. The Project Website was successfully launched in December 2021 (
https://site.unibo.it/msca-volatile4archaeo/en(se abrirá en una nueva ventana)) and will be kept active for at least until Sept. 2024.
The Dissemination was addressed to different target audiences:
1) Dissemination to researchers of the University of Bologna and CICRP
2) Dissemination to conservators, researchers and companies in two workshops “Volatile Binding Media for Temporary Consolidation of Archaeological Materials” organized within the project at the University of Bologna, Italy (5th July 2023) and at the Italian Archaeology Center in Cairo, Egypt (26th September 2023)
3) Oral presentation at the 51st AIC Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2023
4) Publications in peer-reviewed journals (in progress)
- Hamada Sadek Kotb, Andrea Saccani, Elisa Franzoni, “Volatile Binding Media for Temporary Consolidation of Cultural Heritage materials: Characterization of Alternatives to Cyclododecane”, submitted
- Hamada Sadek Kotb, Andrea Saccani, Jean-Marc Vallet, Elisa Franzoni, "New materials for temporary consolidation of cultural heritage: investigating single and blended volatile binding media”, submitted
- Hamada Sadek Kotb, Jean-Marc Vallet, Elisa Franzoni, “Assessment of the effectiveness and compatibility of volatile binding media for temporary consolidation cultural heritage materials”, to be submitted.
5) Dissemination to the conservators’ community, through a Technical report:
- Hamada Sadek Kotb, Elisa Franzoni, “The VOLATILE4ARCHAEO project: A technical report for conservators”, p. 1-18, 2023, deposited in the repository “AMSActa Institutional Research Repository”, with CC BY-NC 4.0 license, URL:
https://amsacta.unibo.it/id/eprint/7439(se abrirá en una nueva ventana)
