The conservation of prehistoric caves in Cantabria, Spain

Ontañón, Roberto; Cayón, V. Bayarri; Herrera, J. M.; Gutiérrez, Raúl

doi:10.1201/b17570-23

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Cave vulnerability can be evaluated by different risk factors: geological-geomorphological (structural and slope stability, seismic events, etc. ); environmental (water interaction and weathering); biological (biomass growth); and anthropic (human presence, site planning, local urbanization and exploitation of natural resources) [3]. The risk can be quantified and mapped with the support of geographic information systems and numerical modelling [4,5].…”

Section: Caves In Heritage Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the basic and acid products of CaCO 3 and pyrite dissolution may neutralize each other[55,56], in this case the pH increase is supposed to depend on the somewhat greater contribution of the weathering of carbonates and other minerals releasing alkali ions[14] 3. The CaO content in the brown and grey rock facies is similar, although the latter contains calcareous bioclasts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…It is also worth noting that gypsum precipitation occurs even for very low concentrations of CaO and pyrite [53]: in Taya Fig. 4 Hand-specimen photographs (top-left) and thin-section photomicrographs at the SEM-BSE (top-right) and optical microscope in plane-and cross-polarized light (bottom), differentiating between the brown and the grey facies of Taya stone stone, CaO content is about 4%, 3 while SO 3 is 1.15% in the grey rock facies-clearly higher than in the brown facies ( Table 2). A final clue is the chemical composition of the groundwater, in particular its enrichment in Ca 2+ and SO 4 2− ( Table 1).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Taya Caves, a Buddhist marvel hidden in underground Japan: stone properties, deterioration, and environmental setting

Germinario

Oguchi

Tamura³

et al. 2020

Herit Sci

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The Buddhist sacred site of Taya Caves is a gem hidden underground in Yokohama, Japan. The caves were excavated and sculpted into bare rock by Shingon Buddhist monks from the Kamakura until the Edo period (thirteenth-nineteenth century), and dedicated to ascetic training, rituals, and pilgrimage. They are a maze of halls and galleries decorated with hundreds of rock-cut reliefs, picturing deities and masters of Buddhism, temples and shrines, real and fantastic animals, vegetal motifs, mandalas, zodiac signs, family crests, etc. The history and rock art of Taya Caves and the urge to preserve their cultural value led to this first-ever scientific investigation, dealing with the stone properties, deterioration, and environmental setting. Textural, mineralogical, geochemical, and petrophysical investigations were combined with a microclimate monitoring and chemical analyses of groundwater and rainwater. The caves are excavated into a clay-rich fossiliferous siltstone, extremely soft and porous and highly susceptible to water-driven weathering. Water represents a constant in Taya Caves, either flowing, dripping, and stagnant; or rising from the subsoil; or related to the extremely high relative humidity. Crusts and efflorescences represent important indicators of mineral dissolution and mobilization. The crusts are made of gypsum, crystallized from the dissolution of calcareous bioclasts and oxidation of pyrite, with minor calcite. The efflorescences are composed of chlorides, phosphates, sulfates, and carbonates, possibly deriving from agrochemicals and the surface vegetation cover. The salt weathering is strictly related to the microenvironmental variables and physico-chemical properties of the phases and waters involved. Rock-water interaction is particularly damaging even considering just the physical mechanisms. The stone is strongly sensitive to water absorption, hygroscopic adsorption, and slaking: the stresses generated by in-pore water and air movement and the swelling clay minerals may lead to rapid disintegration, especially during cyclic processes. This research is expected to raise concerns about the safeguard of Taya Caves and support future monitoring and conservation plans, and to foster a wider promotion and valorization of this heritage site.

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Section: Caves In Heritage Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 95%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Taya Caves, a Buddhist marvel hidden in underground Japan: stone properties, deterioration, and environmental setting

Germinario

Oguchi

Tamura³

et al. 2020

Herit Sci

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“…Digital photographic processes are more straightforward to implement than film photography and photogrammetry is increasingly used to record and study rock art (e.g. Lerma García et al 2012; Ontañon et al 2014, 2019; Fritz et al 2016; Ruiz et al 2016; Garate et al 2020; Rivero et al 2021). This 3D recording of cave art captures more detail than traditional photography, but the images are still predominantly viewed two-dimensionally on a computer screen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animals hidden in plain sight: stereoscopic recording of Palaeolithic rock art at La Pasiega cave, Cantabria

Asiain,

Ontañon,

Saura

2023

Antiquity

Self Cite

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Cantabrian cave art is familiar from photographs reproduced in textbooks, but these two-dimensional images do not capture the irregularities of the rock surfaces on which animals and other designs were painted or engraved. Here, the authors use stereoscopic photography to review the parietal art of La Pasiega cave. By documenting the uneven surfaces of the cave's walls alongside painted and engraved marks, they identify new animal figures and reinterpret others, previously thought to be partial representations, as complete. The results show the positioning of animal figures to make use of concave/convex surfaces and rock edges to define the outlines of animals, reinforcing the need to record and interpret cave art three-dimensionally.

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“…Prehistoric art is an extraordinary manifestation that documents, with great detail and precision, some facts and animal species that coexisted with the humans of Paleolithic times. It is the first industrial and technical heritage of history, and such a singular phenomenon must be protected [1]. It was made by making incisions and/or applying natural pigments mixed with water or organic elements on a rock surface, which for millennia has been subjected to different factors of natural and anthropogenic alteration that may have caused its deterioration or disappearance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hyperspectral Imaging Techniques for the Study, Conservation and Management of Rock Art

2019

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Featured Application: This work presents several hyperspectral techniques that can provide a scientific and non-destructive method for the study, conservation and management of rock art. Tasks such as recognition of coloring matter, formal recognition of the figures, superposition of forms and documentation of the state of conservation can be solved efficiently with hyperspectral imaging.Abstract: Paleolithic rock art is one of the most important cultural phenomena in the history of mankind. It was made by making incisions and/or applying natural pigments mixed with water or organic elements on a rock surface, which for millennia has been subjected to different factors of natural and anthropogenic alteration that have caused its deterioration and/or disappearance. The present paper shows a methodology that employs hyperspectral technology in the range of visible light and the near infrared spectrum, providing a scientific and non-destructive way to study, conserve and manage such a valuable cultural heritage. Recognition of coloring matter, formal recognition of the figures, superposition of forms and documentation of the state of conservation are relevant topics in rock art, and hyperspectral imaging technology is an efficient way to study them. The aim is to establish a method of creating pigment cartography and enhancing the visualization of rock art panels. Illumination sources, spectroradiometry measurements and camera adjustments must be taken into account to generate accurate results that later will be pre-processed to derive reflectance data, and then pigment analysis and enhanced visualization methods are applied. This methodology has allowed us to obtain 76% more figures than using traditional techniques throughout the case study area.The deteriorating factors can act in an isolated or combined way on this cultural heritage and its support, and include dirt, impacts, flaking, disintegration, washing, glazes, coatings, etc.The conservation of industrial, technical and cultural heritage requires a deep understanding of the significance and complexity of a place. Good conservation of our heritage is based on informed decisions, and good documentation ensures that knowledge of heritage places will be passed on to future generations.This work analyses, develops and implements a methodology to generate information not visible to the naked eye due to dirt, washing, glazes and coatings. This information not only improves the visualization of the panels, but also helps us to understand how they were created and sheds light on the stratigraphy or sequence of the execution of different motifs.The methodology is applicable to any rock art panels, and any cultural or industrial heritage objects in general, that need to be studied or controlled in time. The method has been tested on a panel that has been studied since the beginning of the 20th century, which presents a series of complex cases to solve such as superposition of paints, calcite glazes, pigment-sketch combination, etc.Traditional rock art documentation s...

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The conservation of prehistoric caves in Cantabria, Spain

Cited by 14 publications

References 2 publications

Taya Caves, a Buddhist marvel hidden in underground Japan: stone properties, deterioration, and environmental setting

Taya Caves, a Buddhist marvel hidden in underground Japan: stone properties, deterioration, and environmental setting

Animals hidden in plain sight: stereoscopic recording of Palaeolithic rock art at La Pasiega cave, Cantabria

Hyperspectral Imaging Techniques for the Study, Conservation and Management of Rock Art

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