Conservation Continues by Elizabeth Homberger

Here's an example of the type of conservation work we're doing on site:

Before treatment. The image above shows an unstable area of mosaic, with stone tesserae (tiles) at risk of detaching.

After treatment. The image above shows the same area after students have cleaned the tiles and applied an edging of mortar to hold the tesserae in place.

Intro to Conservation 2014 Season

 by 2014 Conservation Supervisor Elizabeth Homberger

The third season of the Rutgers University Upper Sabina Tiberina excavation in Vacone is underway! This year the conservation team includes Conservator Elizabeth Homberger, Conservation Assistant Amanda Klein and six graduate students. Our main priority this season is to clean and stabilize the exposed in-situ architectural details of the villa, including stone mosaic floors and plaster wall paintings.

 We have just two weeks to complete our work, and in the first 2 days started to assess the condition of the mosaics and wall paintings, began cleaning and stabilization of some unstable areas, but unfortunately today we faced a rain storm that kept us inside!