Biodeterioration of marbles of the Parthenon and Propylaea, Acropolis, Athens - associated organisms, decay and treatment suggestions

This study on the marbles of the Acropolis deals with the possible relations between cracking, exfoliation (chip formation), pitting, powdering, and formation of grayish-white surface films that may be covered in places by a yellow to orange patina and microbial communities. Samples were taken at individual places in April 1991, lichen mapping and sampling was done in June 1991. The samples were simultaneously analyzed in the laboratories in Messina and Oldenburg. The effectiveness of biocide treatments is presently investigated using both liquid and agar cultures as well as by cultivating the microflora in the presence and absence of biocides in humid chambers on marble slabs. The possible effects of the optimal biocides on the physical and chemical characteristics of Pentelic marble will be analyzed before any treatment is suggested. The results presented here cast new light on the periodicity of microbial growth on Mediterranean monuments connected with powdering and chipping and on the origin of pitting and gray and orange films covering the marbles of the Acropolis monuments. -- AATA