IPERION HSIntegrating Platforms for the European Research Infrastructure ON Heritage Science

MOLAB (MObile LABoratory) is a world-class distributed infrastructure which consists of key laboratories across 10 European countries providing coherent access, under a unified management structure, to a set of mobile equipment and related competencies, for in-situ non-destructive measurements of artworks, collections, monuments and sites. The analysis may be orientated towards arthistorical or archaeological questions (execution techniques, dating, underdrawings in paintings etc.); assessing the state of conservation of artefacts; determine or test the optimal preservation strategy to slow down alteration processes; monitoring conservation treatments and informing a risk assessment. All the techniques are non-invasive, so there is strictly no sampling or contact with the surface under exam. The motivation for MOLAB arises because a significant fraction of historical patrimony consists of wall paintings, monuments, sculptures, buildings that cannot be moved from their location which implies that non-invasive studies on these objects must be necessarily carried out in-situ, through mobile instrumentation. Even in the case of movable patrimony (such as paintings, ceramics, gems, manuscripts, etc.), it can often be quite difficult, if not impossible, to move such works to a laboratory, due to the high risks and costs associated with their transportation and often fragile state. An advantage of MOLAB is that the measurements, being carried out in-situ, lead to real-time results, permitting an immediate discussion of the recorded data. 

Platform coordinator
Name: Costanza Miliani
Phone: +39 075 5855639
Emailcostanza.miliani@cnr.it

What is new. Now MOLAB includes mobile laboratories with unique competencies in-ground and aerial remote sensing as a key to enable interdisciplinary research in new fields and application scenarios such as i) exploration, survey and documentation of archaeological interests, ii) preventive and landscape archaeology, iii) interpretation, documentation and diagnosis of the state of conservation of built and monumental heritage. Also, the Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy includes new capabilities and provides unique results applied to cultural heritage objects.

It is advised that Users already pre-determine any national radiation protection measures (licenses/accreditations) for visiting MOLAB X-ray based instrumentations.