International Course on Stone Conservation

The International Course on Stone Conservation is a twelve-week course held biennially in Rome. The course has long served a vital educational role in the conservation profession by offering an accessible and intensive format in which to learn theoretical and practical methodologies for stone conservation. It provides a constructive and intimate forum for international professionals to meet and exchange ideas about the conservation practices and challenges in their home countries.

Since 2009, the GCI has partnered with ICCROM to offer this course to improve the practice of stone conservation internationally by providing participants with a holistic understanding of the decay and deterioration of stone, disseminating effective conservation methodologies, and ensuring a practical understanding of appropriate repair methods and long-term management strategies. Read more about the stone course on the project homepage.

The materials below are adapted from the 2013 course.

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All files below are in PDF format.

1. Introduction and Orientation
Introduction to the architectural history of Rome

2. History and Theory of Conservation (7 files)
History & theory of conservation in the international context
Values in conservation
Roman construction techniques
Stones in Roman construction
Types of intervention: marrying theory with practice
Introduction to porous building materials & stone conservation: Part I Part II
Introduction to the history and conservation of the Non-Catholic Cemetery

3. Stone: Material Characteristics and Use as a Building Material (13 files)
Geology & mineralogy/Microscopy, petrography & stone identification
Stone weathering & decay
Stone matching & selection
Working techniques of stone
Documentation & recording
Introduction to mortars: history, constituents & chemistry
Lime mortars: properties & uses
Mixing mortars
Masonry systems: stonework & mortar
Mechanical properties of stone in masonry
Historic mortars: pointing and filling
Historic mortars: investigation and analysis
Mortar fabrication and application

4. Deterioration Mechanisms and Methods of Survey and Analysis (19 files)
Overview of deterioration mechanism
Morphology of stone decay including terminology & mapping techniques
Non-destructive techniques of investigation
Mechanical properties of masonry constructions & structural mechanism of decay: Part I Part II
Microdestructive diagnostic criteria & techniques/Sampling methodology
Environmental factors of deterioration
Air pollution & interaction of water & porous building materials
Moisture sources & effects/Diagnosis of moisture sources
Moisture & its control
Salts & frost weathering
Lab: salt analysis
Hands on techniques: pinning & adhesives, grouting & mortar integration
Ecology & mechanisms of biodeterioration
Microbiological deterioration
Cimitero Acattolico: in situ examination, sampling & treatment tests
Lab: Biodeterioration/Sample characterization
Vegetation control

5. Conservation Interventions and Treatments: Criteria for Selection and Implementation (26 files)
Methodological approach to conservation interventions
Structural repairs
Emergency and preventive interventions
Practical repair options
Architectural repairs
Archaeological site repairs
Structural repair of sculpture: doweling, packing & moving
Cleaning, cleaning systems, & cleaning of sandstone & limestone
Graffiti cleaning / Coatings: maintenance, removal & reapplication
Consolidation: water & lime-based, including nanolime
Methods of desalination: control & mitigation, poulticing for salts
Introduction to consolidation
Consolidation: solvent based
Consolidants: alkoxysilane based
Issues in consolidation of marble: St. Trophime case study
Evaluating performance of consolidants: lab methods & protocols
Consolidation: application methods & object conditions
Lab: uptake of water and stone consolidants & effects of water repellants
Durability & retreatability of ethyl silicate treatments
Evaluating performance of consolidants: field methods
Treatment with water repellants
Conservation of historical paint on stone
Control & prevention of biological growth/Methods for evaluating biocides
Mosaic conservation
Diagnosis & treatment of granite & case study conservation of granite
Coral stone and gypsum-based mortars

6. Synthesis
Conservation field work at the Non-Catholic Cemetery, Rome