Analytical studies of the Alexandrovo Thracian tomb wall paintings

Z Glavcheva; D Yancheva; E Velcheva; B Stamboliyska; N Petrova; V Petkova; G Lalev; V Todorov

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2015.01.103

Analytical studies of the Alexandrovo Thracian tomb wall paintings

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2016 Jan 5:152:622-8. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2015.01.103. Epub 2015 Feb 8.

Authors

Z Glavcheva¹, D Yancheva², E Velcheva², B Stamboliyska², N Petrova³, V Petkova⁴, G Lalev⁵, V Todorov⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Organic Chemistry with Center of Phytochemistry, BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria. Electronic address: zornitza@orgchm.bas.bg.
² Institute of Organic Chemistry with Center of Phytochemistry, BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria.
³ Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography, BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria.
⁴ New Bulgarian University, 21, Montevideo Street, Res. Quarter Ovcha Kupel, Sofia 1618, Bulgaria.
⁵ School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.
⁶ National Academy of Art, Faculty of Applied Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria.

PMID: 25701135
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2015.01.103

Abstract

A profound study of samples obtained from Thracian tomb wall paintings at Alexandrovo, Bulgaria (dating back to the fourth century BC) were carried out by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The current work provides a glimpse of the ingenious construction and painting techniques used in Thracian tomb at Alexandrovo. The results suggest that beeswax was used as a paint binder and also revealed presence of various nano-materials.

Keywords: Archaeology; Beeswax; DSC; EDS; FTIR; HR-TEM.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't