2003 Chipre Calpe

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MOSAICS MAKE A SITE:THE CONSERVATIONIN SITU OF MOSAICS ONARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Editor"D"EMETRIOS MICHAELIDES

Proceedings of the V Im Conferenceof the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics

Nicosia, Cyprus, 1996


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Sponsors and Organizers of the V Im Conference of ICCMBank of Cyprus Cultural FoundationGetty Conservation InstituteInternational Committee for the Conservation of MosaicsICCROMPierides Foundation, LarnacaUniversity of Cyprus

Mosaics Make a Site: the Conservation in situ of Mosaics on Archaeological SitesEditorDemetrios MichaelidesProceedings of the Vlth Conference of the International Committee for the Conservation ofMosaics, Nicosia, Cyprus, 1996.

A ll rights reserved. No PaJ; t of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any formor in any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, includingphotocopying and recording, or in :m y informarion.srorage or retrieval system, without permissioninwriting fromrhe publishers.

First published m 2003 by ICOI ICCM2003Pub lis he d in Ita ly

ISBN 92~9077-179-8


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Trinidad Pasies Oviedo and Begofia Carrascosa Mollner

The mosaics of Valencia:current situation of conservation and restoration.The case of the pavements of Calpe (Alicante, Spain)

INTRODUCTIONCalpe has long been known for its important archaeological remains, especially the

mosaic pavements which were revealed in the 18th century. Unfortunately, the presentcondition of the Valencia mosaics is not encouraging, and we have been compelled to un-dertake urgent action for their conservation and restoration. Others have already notedthe inexplicable neglect suffered by the Roman pavements in this region 1; Cavanilles madedrawings of the mosaics found in the villa at Calpe, but most of the mosaics themselvesare no longer extant 2. This project of preservation and restoration of the archaeologicalmonuments of Calpe is sponsored and financed by the Department of Culture, Educa-tion and Science of the Community of Valencia. It is hoped that it will serve as a startingpoint for other proposals directed toward the preservation of mosaics in the Valencia area.

THE ROMAN VILLA AT CALPECalpe was the site of an important and extraordinarily rich Roman settlement ex-

cavated by Cavanilles in the 18th century. Further information on the town has also beenrevealed by more recent excavation. Cavanilles excavated in the zone known as the Queen'sbaths according to Llobregat Conesa 3, where he found a group of mosaics which he back-

1 T . Garda de Caceres Izquierdo, "Mosaicos romanos de LaProvincia deValencia", C ronica del IVC ong reso A rq ueo 16 gic o del S udeste E sp ano l (E lc he 1948), Cartagena 1949, p. 411; T . Pasies Oviedo and B.Carrascosa Moliner, "Sistema de Caralogacicn de Losconjuntos musivos de LaComunidad Valenciana:proyecto metodologico para su Conservacion y Restauracion", A etas delX l C ongreso de C onseruacion yRes ta ur ac lo n d e b ie ne s c ul tu ra le s ( C as te llo n 1996), Dipuracicn de Castellon 1996, pp. 467-475. .

2 Only one of me fragments was extracted from the villa, and it is now preserved in the MuscoArqueo16gico de Alicanre. See AI- Cavan illes, Obse rv ac io n es s ab r e L a H isto ria N atu ra !' G eo gra fia, A gri-c u lt ur a; Pob la c ion y Frutos de l Reyno d e Va le nc ia , Madrid 1775, pp. 229-231; A . De Valdecarcel, CornteDe Lumiares, "Iscripciones y Antigucdades del Reyno de Valencia", .M em orias de L a Real Academia de L aHistoriaVIIJ,1852,p.2L

3 E. Llobregat Conesa and J . F . Ivar, Historia d e l' art , Valencia 1986, P: 63.


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filled. Opus sec ti le , sp ica tum and tessellatum mosaics were found at that time, and anotheropus t es se lla tum pavement of unusually large size was found in 1996 within a circularroom. This was excavated almost inits entirety; its condition is extremely fragmentary,Christian graves having been dug through the mosaic during subsequent reuse of thebuilding. The central emblem of the mosaic has been totally destroyed, but the richnessof its decoration is still apparent from the surrounding designs. Approximately 15% ofthe mosaic surface survives, but lines preserved in the underlying mortar allow the re-construction of more of the design.

The conditionof the extant parts ofthe mosaic is fragile. The mortar is weakenedby the penetration of a network of roots. Recurrent changes in temperature and humi-dity according to the different seasons have resulted in surface tension and movements inthe surface of the mosaic causing the shattering of some tesserae, blisters and the liftingof parts of the tesseLlatum. Furthermore, soluble salts derived from the coastal sand dunesetting of the site have caused irreversible damage to the different mortar layers and tothe black tesserae which are very porous and which have now disintegrated.

The intervention described here comprises initial urgent preservation designed toconsolidate and protect the fragmentary remains and to arrest deterioration. Cleaning ofthe remains was followed by photographic documentation. Definitive restoration workremains to be undertaken, and the ultimate fate of the mosaic has yet to be decided.

C RIT ER IA UN DE RL YIN G T HE IN TE RV EN TIO NAlthough different types of mosaic pavements occur in the area, formed of differ-

ent materials and suffering different problems, our objectives were:1) To re-establish the cohesion of all of the layers which comprise the work fromthe initial layer of preparation to the final mortar layer in which the tesseraewere set;

2) To concentrate on treatment that allows the preservation in situ of the remainsand to respect the integrity of the mosaic as a whole;

3) To re-establish the cohesion of all of the layers which comprise th e work fromthe initial layer of preparation to the final mortar layer in which the tesseraewere set;

4) To ensure that all treatments are reversible;5) To undertake tests to establish the suitability of different products and mate-rials prior to use;

6) To stress the importance of cleaning treatments following the guidelines of acontrolled intervention;

7) To safeguard and protect the various rnosaicfragmenrs in anticipation of defini-tive restoration to be undertaken thereafter;

8) To increase awareness of, and respect for our cultural heritage through this sci-entifically responsible intervention.


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PER IM ETER PR OTEC TIO N A ND CLEANING TREATMENTSThe large number of gaps in the mosaic indicated that perimeter protection was ur-

gent in order to prevent the detachment of further tesserae. A natural mortar made oflime and sand was employed for this protection since it is firm but it can easily be re-moved mechanically if required. The mortar was applied to all of the perimeter and tothe gaps within the mosaic. However, several small internal gaps that seemed to be pro-tected by a C0mpact earth filling were simply consolidated with a 5% solution of PrimalAC while awaiting final cleaning and consolidation.

Since the mosaic had only recently been excavated, it had not suffered from intensebiological attack or tenacious calcareous or siliceous concretions. After initial testing toestablish the most suitable method, the first treatment was a mechanical cleaning withsoft brushes and sponges, used with distilled water diluted with 10% neutral soap anddisinfectant. In the case of fragments affected by non-soluble concretions, a chemical-based treatment was employed with cellulose packs and solutions (sodium bicarbonate,ammonium bicarbonate, Neo Desogen and EDTA) which were allowed to act for 12 or24 hours before being neutralized.

C ON SO LIDA TIO N PR OC ESSThe vast majority of fragments of the mosaic were suffering from problems of ad-

herence to the original support and required consolidation. This was undertaken initial-ly sevetal months after the mosaic was excavated. However, further damage was subse-quently noted, and it was clear that thermal changes, together with the fragile conditionof the mortar, were causing serious tension, movement and irreparable damage to the mo-saic surface.

Our experience has shown that localized consolidation or patching does not pro-vide an effective solution to the problem. The nucleus mortar layer needs to be cleaned,andthe lower rudus layer which is disturbed by roots. Before working on the mosaic sur-face it is necessary to tackle the problems of the underlying mortar layers, and to ensurethat the lime stratum in which the tesserae are fixed is as fIrmly bonded as possible to themortar layers.

Satisfactory results have been achieved by the localized injection of new mortar,compatible with the original materials, composed of lime, marble dust and acrylic resin.This provides consistency to the support and restores the qualities of adherence and re-sistance (one part Primal AC 33, one part lime, two parts water, one part marble dust).Apart from its good penetrability, it has the added ability to restore cohesion and adhe-rence to the original layers, and the treatment can be repeated as often as necessary.

In some cases the situation of the tesserae is particularly precarious. As a result ofstrong underlying pressure the tesseraehave been sprung from their original pos-ition andpiled up. Nevertheless, the same consolidation methodology can be followed, and thetesserae can again be placed in their new mortar layer, thus restoring the appearance ofthe original design.


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CONCLUSIONThe consolidation measures described here represent urgent intervention to safe-

guard the mosaic. However, it is dear that these measures should be followed asSOOn aspossible by the final restoration process. If a mosaic is left without attention for a longperiod of time it is prone to biological attack, not to mention damage by human actionwhich may be far mote deleterious than natural deterioration. The maximum degree ofcontinuity is advisable throughout the process of consolidation and final restoration ..Itis to be hoped that our work at Calpe will further encourage consciousness of the im-portance of preservation of mosaics in situ.


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Figs 1 'an d 2: The condition of the extant parts of the mosaic is 'fragile.


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Figs 3 and 4: The majority of fragments of the mosaic were suffering from problems of adherence [Qthe original support and required consolidation,


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F igs 5 and. 6: The mosaic after application of mortar and initial treatment.

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2003 Chipre Calpe