Invited Lecture – Research and Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments and Circuit Walls

This presentation brings together two areas of scientific research supporting the conservation of the Acropolis monuments and circuit walls. The first focuses on the development and evaluation of restoration mortars for marble and limestone, with different mixtures designed for specific conservation applications such as sealing, filling, stone-fragment adhesion, titanium anchoring, and stone supplements. The second investigates the surviving painted decoration (polychromy), of the Acropolis monuments, aiming to identify ancient pigments, binders, decorative patterns, and painting techniques while comparing recent scientific findings with 19th-century research. Together, these studies demonstrate the important role of materials science in the ongoing conservation of the Acropolis and its surrounding circuit walls.