Abstract:The process of failure due to salt-promoted efflorescence in pottery by digital and scanning electron microscopy and by analysis of the effects of NaCl and CaCl₂ on the phase equilibrium of salt water systems. These studies indicated that the growth and connection of the micro-cracks in the particles of samples under the stress of salt crystallization was the destructive cause of pottery efflorescence. Furthermore, there were significant changes in quality, morphology and flexural strength of pottery due to salt crystallization, depending on environmental relative humidity. The most devastating effect was due to crystallization of sodium chloride. Crystallization of sodium chloride could be slowed down by the addition of CaCl₂ , which therefore can play a role in preventing the destruction of pottery due to efflorescence.

Abstract:Due to high moisture content, complicated composition and circumstances, the conservation of earthen sites under conditions of high moisture is one of the most difficult problems in cultural heritage protection. Therefore research on utility of reinforcement materials and portfolio optimization are of practical significance. Based on the existing research and cases, three protective materials were chosen as strengthening agents, and a series of indoor and field tests were carried out and are described in this paper. The strengthening effects of different proportions of the strengthening agents and select the optimum performance indicators, such as morphology,penetration depth,strength and collapse resistance were compared. The tests show that using the chosen strengthening agents and the proper proportions can give good reinforcement effects, such as improve resistance to pulverization and inhibition of the growth of fungi. Furthermore, it can significantly improve the unconfined compressive and shear strength of soil specimens when the moisture content is low. Therefore the results of the studies can be applied to the consolidation and conservation of earthen sites under moisture conditions.

Abstract:Abstract:Tonggusibaxi Ancient City, one of the most important earthen sites in Xinjiang, was a military stronghold of Anxi Frontier?Command in Qiuci during the Tang Dynasty. A large number of cultural relics, having great significance for studies of the cultural history and city layout in the Western Regions in the ancient times, have been unearthed from the site. As described in this paper, during an onsite survey the physical,chemical, mechanical and hydrological properties of the soil were tested in Tonggusibaxi Ancient City. In addition, the anti-erode properties of the soil were tested, after it had been reinforced concentration using potassium silicate(PS)solutions of various concentrations, under rainy and windy conditions. The experiments confirmed that PS could be used to reinforce earth sites and on-site reinforcement projects.

Abstract:In order to analyze the effects of vibrations from different excitation sources on ancient architecture, e.g., the Yu Han Tang acnient buildings in the Suzhou provincial cultural relics protection unit were analyzed. The signals of four vibration sources—the environmental, subway, people’s social activities and sound box—were recorded in a two-story brick-wooden loft. It was found that the effect to ancient buildings of vibration contributed by a subway system having strict vibration controls can be neglected. In Yu Han Tang, the transverse vibration velocities of the environmental vibrations and sound box excitation periods reached the standard level, while the vibrations due to people social in activities exceeded the standard. The structure and function of ancient architecture and the vibration effects of people (which are usually ignored) are discussed, and some suggestions for damping these vibration are proposed. This study provides data for protection of similar ancient two-story brick-wooden lofts.

Abstract:Archival papers, as the only way to preserve the whole conservation project information, play a very important role in conservation projects and have become an essential part of the protection of cultural relics with the conservation of geotechnical heritage sites being valued and strengthened by the nation. This paper analyses the importance of project archival information on the consolidation of geotechnical class heritage sites, presents how to initiate project archival papers and the contents and methods information that should be collected. It also identifies the body of forming and preserving deposited document and the type of carding and condensing project files. On this basis, archival papers are divided into the three sections:pre-project preparatory files, construction technical files and completion files. The connections and differences between them have been analyzed. At the same time, this paper analyzes and makes conclusions regarding specific operational procedure and content and requirement on the initiation and collection of project archival information, classifying and arranging, and sorting and generating paper.

Abstract:Elements containing information of the mother lode and concentrated in copper after smelting of copper ore can be used to deduce the source of materials in bronze .In order to study the provenance of copper minerals, the trace elements of 21 bronzes excavated from the ancient city of Zheng and Han in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty are analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES). The analytical results showed that the compositions of the trace elements in the bronzes are relatively uniform, and from this it could be inferred that the ores are from the same or similar mining sites. There are some remarkable differences between the traces elements identified in objects from ancient capital city of Zheng and Han and those from the Xiaoshuangqiao site. This illustrates that the ores chosen for casting changed between the middle-Shang and Spring and Autumn periods in this area. The results of the study can provide clues to the mineral provenance of bronzes.

Abstract:Ultra-depth field microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to analyze the materials used to make the colored drawings in the Bell Tower in Xi’an. These studies show that the technique of“only plaster layer”is the colored drawing’s background plaster. Red pigments were hematite and the green pigment was an artificial pigment (emerald green); the binding medium was composed mainly of animal glue. This research is of significance for restoration and conservation of colored paintings of the Bell Tower in Xi’an.

Abstract:A lot of information on techniques, materials and the production periods for ancient polychrome sculptures has been collected with the help of related literature and by application of modern analytical methods. The revelation of their historical, scientific and artistic values is of great help to art historians and conservators. In this work, the 3D video and polarized light microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, SEMscanning electron microscopy with energydispersive Xray spectroscopy, Xray powder diffraction and Xray fluorescence were applied to a Ming dynasty(1368-1644 AD)polychrome Taoist star now in Shanxi Art Museum. It was found that the polychrome sculpture had been repainted several times. The foot was repainted four times. From the clay layer to the surface layer the pigments used in turns were:carbon black (C) for the black pigment, atacamite (CuCl₂·3Cu(OH)₂) for the green pigment, lead white (PbCO₃) for the white pigment, and a mixture of indigo (C₆H₁₀N₂O₂) and litharge (PbO) for the brown red pigment. The head of the polychrome sculpture was repainted twice, with ultramarine blue(Na6-8Al₆Si₆O₂₄(S2-4)) and indigo, respectively. On the sculpture body, chrome yellow (PbCrO₄) is used as the yellow pigment and the ultramarine blue as the blue pigment. A mixture of vermilion (HgS) and red lead (Pb₃O₄) is used as the red pigment and a mixture of chrome yellow and ultramarine blue is used as green pigment. The components of the white layer are the mixture of quartz (SiO₂) and kaolin (Al₂Si₂O₇·2H₂O). The results show that the polychrome sculpture was repainted or repaired many times in the past hundred years. Judging from the similar components of the different white layers, it can be concluded that the temple has a tradition of using kaolin as a component of the white layer.

Abstract:The chemical compositions of the clay from excavated pottery, raw materials and semi-finished products from the Pingtou site, as well as soil samples around the site, were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Through principal component analysis of the data by SPSS18.0, it was deduced that the clay material composition of various types of pottery is the same, although with slight differences in the concentration of calcium. The clay raw materials used to make the pottery were dug from the red soil layers near the site. The Pingtou site was an ancient local pottery production site.

Abstract:Due to environmental influences, salts are prone to crystallize on the surfaces of pots. In the conservation of pots, desalination is one of most important treatments. In this study, the influence of various factors , such as eluent velocity and concentration, on the crystalline salt and the progress of desalination were analyzed by dual ion chromatography. These experiments showed that eluent velocity and concentration affect the separation of ions and shapes of the chromatography peaks. With Na₂CO₃~NaHCO₃ at a concentration of 2.5~1.7mmol/L and a flow rate of 0.6mL/min, or pyridinedicarboxylic acid~HNO₃ at 0.8~1.6 mmol/L and 0.7 mL/min, all ions show well separated peaks with good peak shapes. The standard curves were highly linear, reproducible, and precise with high correlation coefficients. Therefore, it can be concluded that dual channel ion chromatography is capable of detecting ions and giving concentration information. The method is proved to be quick, easy and accurate. The method can be used to monitor the desalination process.

Abstract:A survey was conducted on 19 outdoor stone cultural heritage sites in Shaanxi Province to have a record of the state of bio-deterioration. Including in study were the type and species of the organisms and their distribution patterns. The survey results suggest that bio-deterioration agents included algae, lichen, moss, higher plants and animals. Lichen was found in 16 sampling sites, algae in 11 and moss in 6. During this survey, 16 algae, 16 lichen and 8 moss species were identified and collected.

Abstract:To manage spatial and characteristics data obtained during archeological investigations and excavation processes, an archaeological information system framework is constructed for the Qin Mausoleum based on B/S model, SSH framework ,Java EE, PostgreSQL database and ArcGIS Server platform.The Qin Mausoleum archaeological information system is used to inquire about and browse the spatial geographical and characteristics information on Qin Mausoleum cultural relics, to manage and access archaeological results, to provide more standardized data management for Qin Mausoleum archaeological studies, and to meet the requirement of digital archaeology.

Abstract:The Zhuanstyle text carved on Wa-dang (eaves tiles) is a significant element of Chinese culture . These texts are important objects for research on Chinese characters. A three dimensional segmenting method is developed based on curvature theory to extract Chinese characters on Wa-dang. A computer model first with coarse segmentation was constructed and then with a fine segmentation to extract curved text on Wadang. First the curvature of the Wa-dang surface was computed to do coarse segmentation, then clustering was utilized to do fine segmentation. In order to further refine it, a planar point set derived from curvature values was introduced to accomplish fitting of the plane, and then the model was further segmented using the fitting plane. Based on the characteristics of the model itself,local segmentation in multiple planes was achieved. Finally, a parallel thinning subiteration method was used to extract the skeleton line and to thin the segmented model.Experimental results showed that the method used in this paper can effectively achieve 3D extraction of Wadang text.

Abstract:As one of the earliest examples in the world of a large ancient shipwreck, the Quanzhou Bay Song Dynasty shipwreck has its own characteristics that complicate its protection. This shipwreck was successfully recovered and then dried naturally and slowly over four years. However, the neglected desalting procedure and the presence of a large number of iron nails used on the body in the early protection period has had highly destructive consequences. At present, the shipwreck hull has been under preservation for 40 years, and the overall structure is still quite stable, but it is difficult to thoroughly solve the problems caused by earlier protection efforts. It is difficult to achieve long-term stability under open environmental conditions. Therefore, based on the analysis of its current state of preservation, the environment of the hull by trying to inhibit or delay various physical ,chemical and biological forms of deterioration have been started to control. These conservation actions are the most efficient way to prevent the wood of the ship from deteriorating further and to extend the life of the hull.

Abstract:The wall paintings in the Gansu Museum collection are of great historical, scientific and artistic value. Most of those wall paintings came from buried archeological sites; others came from grottos or ancient architectures. The materials (mud or lime ground layers) are fragile. These paintings usually have a long history of damage. Previous research suggested that watersalt migration in the wall was a main cause of wall painting deterioration. However, once they have been moved to the museum environment, the surrounding environment (e.g. temperature and humidity) of the wall paintings can be controlled and it is easier to protect them. In this paper the wall paintings at Gansu Museum was used, from Tiantishan grottoes, Wuwei, as an examples in order to discuss the conservation of wall paintings in a museum environment. With many years of wall conservation experience, the key procedures of intervention, retreading, and the exchange of support were focused on. Through practical exploration of conservation techniques and concepts, the authenticity and integration of wall paintings were preserved. It’s suggested that through the use multimedia, the process of conservation and the value of the paintings can be vividly enhanced, which is not done in traditional exhibits. The research provides reference for conservation of similar objects.

Abstract:This paper proposes a digital method based on computer technology for restoration of broken bronze artifacts having a symmetrical structure. First, a threedimensional laser scanner is used to construct an artifact model based on currently available information. Second, the symmetryplane of the broken artifact is computed using the least squares method for finding feature points, which are selected manually. Finally, the restoration result is obtained based on the symmetrical structure of the artifact. In order to solve the problem that exists due to the difference in shape between the reflection model based on a symmetrical plane and original incomplete model, a non-rigid registration method is used to warp the reflection model in order to make the final restoration model appropriate. The feasibility and usability of the algorithm is confirmed by experiments. This restoration method can be of use to artifact conservation experts.