Luca Volpi is an archaeologist of Western Asia specialised in material culture studies, with active collaborations in Iraq, Türkiye, and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Luca holds a Ph.D. from Sapienza Università di Roma. His current project focuses on the conservation and restoration practices of archaeological earthen architectures in Western Asia.
Host University: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Host research group or department: Departamento de Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Paleografía y Diplomática (link)
Co-host University: Stockholm University, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Sweden (Niklas Hedin's group)
Secondment institution: University of Granada, Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Spain (link)
Advisor: Prof. Carmen del Cerro Linares
Co-advisor: Prof. Niklas Hedin
Secondment mentor: Dr. Anna Arizzi
My research
EnEAp - Endangered Earthen Architecture project. New Challenges in the Conservation and Restoration Practices of Archaeological Earthen Masonries in Western Asia
Conservation of archaeological earthen architectures (i.e. mudbricks) is a challenging task. Earthen architectures deteriorate in a short period of time once exposed to weathering and other decay agents. Their conservation is one of the crucial points of every cultural heritage programme where earthen architectures are attested, and it also has ethical and philosophical issues.Selected area of the project is the Western Asia, a region in which the use of earthen masonries was substantial due to the climatic and environmental conditions of the area and still is.The project is intended to investigate the possibilities of enhancing the durability and strength of mudbricks against weathering and other decay agents using chemical stabilising materials that are sustainable, green, and ecologically friendly. Two possibilities are proposed: the use of chemicals originating from recycled materials (e.g. recycled PET to produce Bio-PE and degradable bioplastics; the use of green and eco-friendly stabilising components with a low environmental impact (e.g. nanoparticles of calcium hydroxide or alkyl polyamines).Tests on mudbricks (both replicas and archaeological) will estimate the compatibility and applicability of these materials for the conservation process of mudbricks, together with their efficacy based on petrographic, chemical, mineralogical, mechanical and hydrographic tests.The research is completed by a comparative analysis of the conservation and restoration practices on a regional basis, with the use of satellite environmental and climatic data; and by the proposal of a protocol for laboratory analysis specific for earthen architectures to be carried out before any conservative interventions following the standards proposed by the CEN (European Committee for Standardization).The research is conceived as an analytic work only. The application in situ of the obtained results as well as their development on a large scale are beyond the limits of the proposal.
Date started – Date End
11.12.2023 - 10.12.2025
