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Scientific stage report on the samples taken from the Ghajn Tuffieha Roman baths site, Malta

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posted on 2024-10-09, 07:11 authored by Ruby Jean Cutajar

Research data accompanying "Scientific stage report on the samples taken from the Ghajn Tuffieha Roman baths site, Malta". It builds further on the Bachelor's dissertation "Conservation of mosaics : a conservation proposal for the site of Għajn Tuffieħa Roman Baths".

The paper details the characterisation of the mortars, renders, suspected marble and ceramic tesserae. Light microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy [SEM], X-ray Diffraction [XRD] and mercury porosimetry tests were planned for the 14 samples taken. To these, other tests were added such that the actual research also came to consist of XRD following clay fraction separation as well exposure of samples to different relative humidity levels.

Light microscopy was used to get a better look at the samples components’ sizes and colours. SEM was in turn used to probe the samples’ surface and produce secondary electron images while the back-scattering mode of the SEM was used to provide information about the distribution of the different elements in the sample. XRD was used to help analyse the suspected minerals present in the samples.

Clay fraction separation was found to be needed in order to better study the clay minerals detected by XRD. Exposure of the samples to different relative humidity levels was used to study the samples’ behaviour in absorption and desorption phases while mercury porosimetry was used to determine various quantifiable aspects of the samples’ porous nature such as open and closed porosity as well as average pore diameter.

Funding

French Embassy in Malta Scholarship

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