Thursday 7 May 2015

News: Pompeian frescoes cured with antibiotics

From The Art Newspaper:
Pompeian frescoes cured with antibiotics

Bacteria removed from Villa of the Mysteries frieze during restoration
Some of the most celebrated frescoes at the ancient Roman site of Pompeii have been given a clean bill of health, thanks to a course of antibiotics. Conservators used amoxicillin, a type of penicillin, to treat strains of bacteria living in the Dionysiac frieze that decorates what scholars believe to be the dining room of the Villa of the Mysteries. The streptococcus bacteria were thriving on the paintings’ natural pigments and turning them to powder. The house reopened to the public in March after an extensive, two-year restoration project.
Read more here.

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