Andreas Rohatsch

Digital imaging in cultural heritage neutron tomography imaging of restored original samples from Austrian cultural heritage

The protection and conservation of our cultural heritage which is made of natural stone is of cultural and economic value. The interaction of natural stone-made surfaces with different chemical and physical, climatic controlled, weathering processes, leads to a rapidly increasing deterioration of these monuments. Several different methods are employed in order to conserve and restore these important structures. An effective technique of conservation and restoration is the use of chemical consolidants. One of the main tasks of stone consolidants is a deep penetration into the weakened fabric and the reconstruction of the grain binding strength. The three-dimensional distribution of the consolidants in weathered rock is important for the evaluation of this conservation procedure. Neutron Imaging due to the specific sensitivity of neutrons for hydrogen could be a very useful tool for non-destructive investigation of the chemical inside the restored sample. The method of neutron tomography gives a three dimensional (3D) mapping of the conservation agent in the sample. This paper presents the application of the method of neutron tomography for assessing the consolidation of valuable original samples from historical buildings and monuments in Austria.

Adnet ‘Marble’, Untersberg ‘Marble’ and Leitha Limestone—Best Examples Expressing Austria’s Physical Cultural Heritage

Adnet ‘Marble’ and Untersberg ‘Marble’ from Salzburg federal state and Leitha Limestone from eastern Austria are proposed for designation as Global Heritage Stone Resource. The mainly reddish and grayish Adnet ‘Marble’ limestone comprises a wide range of variants and stratigraphic units which belong to the Upper Triassic reef limestones and the Early Jurassic limestones from the Adnet Group. Its use during the Middle Ages and Modern times follows the traditions from antiquity of using red stones to express imperial and ecclesiastic power. The pale cream, rose to gray yellow, massive and very dense Untersberg ‘Marble’ limestone is a fine to medium grained (partially breccious) arenite that belongs to the Upper Cretaceous Gosau Group. It was the most prominent statuary limestone within Central Europe. The Untersberg ‘Marble’ has been mined since Roman times at several quarries and used mainly for decorative purposes. The ivory colored porous Leitha Limestone (Leithakalk) of Middle Miocene age (about 12–16 million years) is mainly made up of calcareous red algae. It has been a prominent material for buildings and statues from Roman times until the invention of reinforced concrete. Famous quarry districts in eastern Austria, e.g. in parts of the Leitha Mountains, Ruster Hills and east of Leibnitz provided the essential resources for representative buildings, most prominently those in Vienna. St. Margarethener Kalksandstein from Burgenland and Aflenzer Sandstein (former Aflenzer Muschelkalk) from southern Styria are still being quarried.