Ricerc@Sapienza

Earth's microbial biosphere extends down through the crust and much of the subsurface, including those microbial ecosystems located within cave systems. Here, we elucidate the microbial ecosystems within anthropogenic 'caves'; the Iron-Age, subterranean tombs of central Italy. The interior walls of the rock (calcium-rich macco) were painted ~2500 years ago and are covered with CaCO3 needles (known as moonmilk).

A white deposit covering the walls in the Stanza degli Scudi of the Tomba degli Scudi, Tarquinia, Italy,
has been investigated. In this chamber, which is still preserved from any kind of intervention such as
cleaning and sanitization, ancient Etruscans painted shields to celebrate the military power of the
Velcha family. Scanning electron microscopy analysis has revealed the presence of characteristic
nanostructures corresponding to a calcite secondary mineral deposit called moonmilk. Analysis of the

Metropoli dell’Etruria meridionale, città romana, centro medioevale,
Tarquinia è oggi luogo archeologico di fama internazionale e cittadina
di intensa vita culturale.
La Necropoli, che conserva la più ricca documentazione della pittura
d’età arcaica e classica di tutto il bacino del Mediterraneo, nel 2004
è stata dichiarata dall’UNESCO, insieme a quella di Cerveteri, patrimonio
dell’Umanità.
Tra gli ipogei più importanti si colloca la Tomba degli Scudi, e il
suo restauro, reso possibile dalla collaborazione tra la Soprintendenza

In this work, we have analyzed and characterized a white patina, that covers the walls and frescoes of two Etruscan tombs located in the Monterozzi’s necropolis of Tarquinia: the Tomba degli Scudi and the Tomba Bartoccini. The powders have been retrieved from these areas before and during the intervention of the restorers and then SEMEDX, FT-IR and XRD have been performed for the characterization. These white powders are formed by rod-like and crystalline calcium carbonate, the length of which is a few micrometers, while the thickness has an average value of about 400 nm.