Abstract
The late Ptolemaic temple of Athribis in Upper Egypt is built of regional limestone and preciously decorated with reliefs, inscriptions, plaster and polychromy. It is collapsed and only partly preserved and it disposes of some still buried rooms. The temple is situated in a desert climate and highly contaminated with soluble salts. Based on mappings of materials and preservation conditions, on investigations into the materials used and the damaging factors the development of a conservation conception for the limestone remains has been started. Conservation materials have been selected or are specially developed. A test area for some tasks has been prepared and controlled after 1 year of exposure. The paper shows the status quo of the work of the stone conservation group in an archaeological site in desert climate.
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Acknowledgments
The authors want to thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) for funding the project and the Thyssen-Foundation for supporting the first campaign of the conservation group. They want to express thanks to Prof. Dr. W.-G. Grimm for sharing his enthusiasm for stone and its conservation with them and to Prof. Dr. Siegfried Siegesmund for encouraging the publication of the paper.
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Leisen, H., von Plehwe-Leisen, E., Verbeek, C. et al. Aspects of conservation in the excavation site of the Athribis temple in Egypt. Environ Geol 56, 689–697 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1473-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1473-z