Frescoes in Pomei cured with antibiotics

POMPEII. Some of the most famous frescoes in the ancient Roman Pompeii were restored using a course of antibiotics. Restorers used amoxicillin, a penicillin antibiotic, to treat strains of bacteria living on murals that, scientists say, decorated the dining room of Villa Mysteries. Streptococcal bacteria thrived on the natural pigments of the picture and "turned them into powder." The house was opened to the general public in March, after an extensive two-year restoration.

Photo: MiBACT (Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Activities)

Under the leadership of Stefano Vanacore, head of the restoration laboratory of Pompeev, a team of 20 people from the private company Atramentum restored the original appearance of the villa. They removed traces of soil from the paintings that remained after excavations that took place in the early 1900s. Since 2013, the team has restored mosaic floors and cleaned thousands of square meters of interior decoration throughout the house. The analysis showed a wide range of methods used to create the painting on the walls, from encaustic (paint mixed with melted wax) to the use of a very rare “Egyptian blue”.

Particular attention was paid to the deep red color. Restorers used lasers to remove dark spots that form in the pigment (from cinnabar mineral) over time, as well as soil particles containing the black mineral manganese, which, dissolving in rainwater, seeped through cracks in the ancient masonry. The restoration of the frescoes completed the second phase of work at the Mystery Villa. The first phase began in 2008, and consisted in strengthening the structure and repairing the roof with an area of more than 2500 square meters. m

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru