Preliminary 1H NMR study on archaeological waterlogged wood.
Magnetic Resonance Relaxation (MRR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are powerful tools to obtain detailed information on the pore space structure that one is unlikely to obtain in other ways. These techniques are particularly suitable for Cultural Heritage materials, because they use water 1H nuclei as a probe. Interaction with water is one of the main causes of deterioration of materials. Porous structure in wood, for example, favours the penetration of water, which can carry polluting substances and promote mould growth. A particular case is waterlogged wood from underwater discoveries and moist sites; in fact, these finds are very fragile because of chemical, physical and biological decay from the long contact with the water. When wood artefacts are brought to the surface and directly dried in air, there is the collapse of the cellular structures, and wood loses its original form and dimensions and cannot be used for study and museum exhibits. In this work we have undertaken the study of some wood finds coming from Ercolano's harbour by MRR and MRI under different conditions, and we have obtained a characterization of pore space in wood and images of the spatial distribution of the confined water in the wood.
Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Siena, Via A. Moro, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Antonella
A
Maccotta
Paola
P
Fantazzini
Carla
C
Garavaglia
Ines D
ID
Donato
Patrizia
P
Perzia
Maria
M
Brai
Filippa
F
Morreale
D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D016062:Porosity; D014867:Water; D014934:Wood
D014867:Water