Participants in ARIS07 recording conditions of the eighteenth-century wall paintings in Santa Cecilia in Rome. Photo: Rand Eppich

Team members from Zanzibar, Greece, Germany, and Lithuania closely examining original techniques in raking light. To date, participants from more than fifty countries have taken an ARIS course. Photo: Rand Eppich

An ARIS09 participant in the Cappella dei Ponziani mapping damage to wall paintings in order to understand the mechanisms of decay. Photo: Rand Eppich

Many nondestructive techniques were explored in the ARIS courses. In this combination thermal/visual image, moisture entering from around the door frame (bottom) can be seen below the plaster (top). In the ARIS course, high-technology tools were used along with low-technology tools. Photo: Rand Eppich

A participant from Cyprus testing the stereo vision on the computer. Stereo-photogrammetry was used to record the three-dimensional alters in the right nave of Santa Cecilia. Photo: Rand Eppich

Instructor Werner Schmid explaining wall paintings conservation techniques at Santa Maria Antiqua in the Roman Forum. Site visits, such as this, were part of the courses. Photo: Rand Eppich

Participants exploring some of the many documentation techniques available, including CAD (computer-aided design), laser scanning, GIS (geographic information systems) and Photoshop. Photo: Rand Eppich

ARIS05 participants conduction extensive field measurements in the courtyard of Santa Cecilia using a Leica total station. Photo: Rand Eppich