The dome of Rotunda in Thessaloniki: Investigation of a multi-pictorial phase wall painting through analytical methods

The present study focuses on the investigation of the successive pictorial phases of the wall painting which survives on the missing eastern part of the magnificent mosaic composition in the interior of Rotunda, Thessaloniki, Greece. Rotunda, a circular domed monumental building, was constructed in the early 4th century AD and it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Characterization analysis was performed by means of microscopic, spectroscopic and crystallographic techniques, in order to identify the technological features of the wall painting and the materials used, to document the initial Byzantine pictorial phase-known from the archaeological research-along with the overpaintings attributed to the 19th and 20th centuries. In this framework, the collected samples were studied with optical microscopy, Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Among the detected materials and pigments (including zinc oxide, barium sulfate, red lead, green earth, Prussian blue, emerald green, ultramarine and cuprite), the use of brass powder for false gilding purposes was detected, which is a material rarely used for mural applications. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the investigation of the successive pictorial phases of wall painting in the Rotunda of Thessaloniki, Greece. Various characterization analysis techniques were used to identify the technological features of the wall painting and the materials used, revealing the presence of rare materials and pigments like brass powder.