STUDY OF ALTERATION AND DEGRADATION PRODUCTS OF A ROMAN MARBLE SARCOPHAGUS LOCATED IN THE MEDIEVAL CLOISTER OF THE OLD ST COSIMATO’S CONVENT, NOW THE NEW “REGINA MARGHERITA HOSPITAL” (ROME)"

The identification of the degradation products in archaeological artefacts and objects from cultural heritage is extremely helpful to the restoration or preservation process. Without diagnostic analysis, conservators would not be able to decide on the most appropriate procedure to be carried out and may even cause irreversible damage to the artwork [1]. The aim of this work is to carry out diagnostic analysis on a Roman sarcophagus, located in the cloister of the old St. Cosimato’s Convent in Rome, now the Regina Margherita Hospital (Rome). The small sized Roman sarcophagus was made from a single marble piece with a trapezoidal vertical section and has the following measurements: length 124 cm, width 37 cm and depth 55 cm. The external side of the sarcophagus is adorned with strigile flutes and has a central clipeo, which before restoration, seemed to have no decorations. The sarcophagus has a hole in the centre which suggests past use as a wash-basin. Inside the sarcophagus, a low pillow is visible on the right side. The marble appears fine grained and covered by a thick pink coloured patina (Figure 1).