Physical chemistry of cultural heritage materials. Part 1

The societies that preceded us can be studied from written sources where they exist, or from the objects and works of art that have come down to us, whether the approach is stylistic, historical or technical. In some cases, however, the historical or archaeological approach alone reveals only part of the scientific data contained in the objects studied. In such cases, the materials that make up the works can be chemically characterized in order to search for clues that are not perceptible by the most widespread methods of study in archaeology or art history. From their formation in a geological or biological context to their transformation, use and eventual abandonment by man, these materials have been able to record a certain amount of information within their chemical composition, at elemental, isotopic, molecular or structural level. As a result, the nature and geographical origin of the raw materials exploited in the past, the techniques used to transform the materials, the various stages in the restoration of the objects or the natural processes of alteration can be revealed thanks to the implementation of appropriate analytical methodologies. Photographic and radiographic examinations, microscopic observations and physico-chemical analyses are all essential to reveal the many facets of the history of materials used by man over time.

Since the first innovative analyses of ancient objects in the 19th century, the development of methodologies for the study of heritage materials gave rise in the 1960s to an autonomous discipline, archaeometry, which includes dating, geophysical prospecting and materials characterization. Today, all those involved in the field of cultural heritage, whether in the physical-chemical sciences, archaeology or conservation and restoration, are tending to join forces, particularly in France, to create a genuine "science of heritage materials" [1] concerned with all man-made works. The recent creation of the "Journal of Cultural Heritage" bears witness to this trend, and completes the range of journals designed to disseminate research in archaeometry or conservation, such as "Archaeometry", the "Journal of Archaeological Science", "Studies in Conservation", "Ancient Biomolecules", the "Revue d'archéométrie" or "Technè".

Presenting the research carried out on heritage materials naturally requires describing to the reader the analytical methodologies that enable us to gradually penetrate materials at different scales. But it is also essential to address the implications of analytical results in the fields of archaeology, art history, restoration and conservation, in line with the interdisciplinary issues defined above. We have therefore chosen to organize this dossier by...