Archaeologists excavating 2400 year old tombs at a site in Turkey are adding something new to the tools of the trade. According to a recent article
highly specialized powders consisting of nanoparticles will be applied to the rock surfaces in square-centimeter doses. The nanoparticles will be specially designed to be chemically compatible with the rocks and will be used to clean, restore and protect the surfaces of the rock tombs. “In this way, the tombs will be restored and protected.”
In a similar fashion nanofluids are being used to clean and preserve the surfaces of murals and frescoes at Mesoamerican sites. As Paolo Samori put it:
, ‘this is a bright example of how nanoscience can be used effectively to solve a wide variety of open issues, even in unexpected applications such as the removal of harmful polymer coatings from the surface of works of art.’
‘Conservation science is a relatively young subject,’ Baglioni concludes, but ‘the contribution that chemistry, physics and nanosciences in general can give to art conservation is huge’.
Wonder if Indy will trade in the whip and fedora for nanoparticles in the next movie?
