Discrete and continuous monitoring to characterised the thermo-hygrometric state of wall-building materials Inostia Antica archeological site

Abstract

Nowadays, the procedures and instruments for measuring temperatures on the air and materials surface are normed andamply used, through direct and indirect techniques, with the aim to evaluate the conservation status of ancient buildings.In this work, two monitoring procedures are discussed in order to characterise materials, bricks and mortar aligned with“opus caementicium” technique, that make up the framework of “Casa di Diana” Mithraeum, a roman building (130 CE)sited in an Italian archaeological site (Ostia Antica, Rome). In this sense, for one year the wall-building materials and thesurrounding air were monitored with two different procedures: a direct multi-points measurement with several handheldinstrument which different physical systems conduced in predetermined periods and a long-term monitoring campaignwith sensors specially developed placed along the walls. Preliminary data analyses show that the discrete monitoringwith punctually procedure gives important information like the evaporating and condensing risk for both materials andareas particularly critical associated at lower level (0-70 cm). Continuous monitoring allows the individuating of punctualcharacteristics in time and space, planning recovery actions, although it requires more data treatment. Preliminary datatreatments show the potentiality and advantages of both methodologies: general information and more data treatmentwith automatic method and specific information and more time spends in data adquisition with a manually proceeding.