The Cathedral of St. George is located in the Yuriev Monastery, in Novgorod, one of the capitals of ancient Rus (The Great Novgorod). The wall paintings were completed around 1120 CE. The Cathedral or its parts were renovated in different periods. The fragments of the twelfth-century frescoes were deposited under the new floor and in the area around the Cathedral. Archaeological excavations of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow brought to light a large number of fragments of frescoes. The Laboratory for Architectural Archaeology and Multidisciplinary Methods in Architectural Research of the Institute began to study the fragments in 2021 and presents here the first results of the research on substrate and preparation layers of the paintings. Our aim was tdistinguishing the different phases of the wall paintings. The plasters used in the twelfth century are different from the later ones and contain different aggregates.
SedovVV, KadeishviliEA, VdovichenkoMV.The frescoes of the 12th century on the walls of the Cathedral of St. George in the Yuriev monastery near Novgorod Veliky, discovered on the 2013 archaeological excavation. Conserv Stud Monuments Cult. 2014;7:15–19. СЕДОВ ВЛ.В., КАДЕЙШВИЛИ Е.А., ВДОВИЧЕНКО М. В. Фрески XII в. на стенах Георгиевского собора Юрьева монастыря под Великим Новгородом, открытые в ходе археологических работ 2013 г., Реставрация и исследование памятников культуры. 2014;7:15–19.
2.
SedovVV, VdovichenkoMV, KadeishviliEA.Frescoes of the XII century on the walls of the St. George Cathedral of the Yuriev Monastery (according to the results of archaeological work in 2014). Restor Res Cult Monuments. 2016;8:11–17. СЕДОВ ВЛ.В., ВДОВИЧЕНКО М.В., КАДЕЙШВИЛИ Е.А. Фрески XII в. на стенах Георгиевского собора Юрьева монастыря (по результатам археологических работ 2014 г., Реставрация и исследование памятников культуры. Вып. 2016;8:11–17.
3.
SedovVV, EtinhofOE.New data on architecture and frescoes of the Cathedral of St. George in the Yuriev Monastery. Archit Heritage. 2016;65:16–29. СЕДОВ ВЛ.В., ЭТИНГОФ О.Е. Новые данные об архитектуре и фресках Георгиевского собора Юрьева монастыря, Архитектурное наследство. 2016;65:16–29.
4.
SedowW.Die Ausgrabungen in der St.-Georg-Kathedrale des Jurjew-Klosters in Welikij Nowgorod (2013–2016). In: NawrothM, WemhoffM, MakarowN, KowalW, editors, Archäologie in mittelalterlichen Städten. Russland und Deutschland – ein Vergleich. Berlin: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; 2020. p. 117–137.
5.
WeyerA, Roig PicazoP, PopD, . European illustrated glossary of conservation terms for wall paintings and architectural surfaces. English definitions with translations into Bulgarian, Croatian, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish and Turkish. Series of publications by the Hornemann Institute, Volume 17. Petersberg: M.Imhof Verlag; 2016.
6.
CenniniC.Il libro dell'Arte. Vicenza: Neri Pozza Editore; 2020; I, LVIII, 101–102.
KakavasG.Dionysios of Fourna: artistic creation and literary description. Leiden: Alexandros Press; 2008. p. 288–291.
9.
AllagC, GrotembrilS.Le rôle des sous-couches. In: CavalieriM, TomassiniP, editors. La peinture murale antique: méthodes et apports d'une approche technique. Actes du colloque international, Louvain-la-Neuve, 21 avril 2017. Roma: Quasar; 2021. p. 205–212.
10.
MaranoM.Mortars and pigments under the microscope. In: CavalieriM, TomassiniP, editors. La peinture murale antique: méthodes et apports d'une approche technique. Actes du colloque international, Louvain-la-Neuve, 21 avril 2017. Roma: Quasar; 2021. p. 55–68.
11.
AmadoriML, BarcelliS, PoldiG, . Invasive and non-invasive analyses for knowledge and conservation of Roman wall paintings of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. Microchem J. 2015;118:183–192.
12.
MaranoM.Mortars and pigments under the microscope. In: CavalieriM, TomassiniP, editors. La peinture murale antique: méthodes et apports d'une approche technique. Actes du colloque international, Louvain-la-Neuve, 21 avril 2017. Roma: Quasar; 2021. p. 58–65. figs.3; 4; 5; 8.
13.
DuranA, Pérez-RodríguezJL, Jimenez de HaroMdC, . Analytical study of Roman and Arabic wall paintings in the Patio De Banderas of Reales Alcazares’ Palace using non-destructive XRD/XRF and complementary techniques. J Archaeol Sci. 2011;39(9):2366–2377.
14.
EastaughN, WalshV, ChaplinT, . Pigment compendium: a dictionary and optical microscopy of historical pigments. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; 2008.
15.
Giumlia-MairA. (2009). The history of mercury production in the mine of Idrija, Slovenia. In: Archaeometallurgy in Europe 2007, 17–21 June, Aquileia, Italy, p. 68–78.
16.
GliozzoE.Pigments – mercury-based red (cinnabar-vermilion) and white (calomel) and their degradation products. Archaeol Anthropol Sci. 2021;13(210):1–52. doi:10.1007/s12520-021-01402-4.
17.
TrinquierJ.Cinnabaris et “sang-dragon »: Le « cinabre » des anciens entre minéral, végétal et animal. Rev Archeol. 2013;2013(2):305–346.
18.
BevilacquaN, BorgioliL, Adrover GraciaI.I pigmenti nell'arte dalla preistoria alla rivoluzione industriale. Saonara: Il Prato editrice; 2019.
19.
DilariaS, SebastianiL, SalvadoriM, . (2021). Caratteristiche dei pigmenti e dei tectoria ad Aquileia: un approccio archeometrico per lo studio di frammenti di intonaco provenienti da scavi di contesti residenziali aquileiesi (II sec. a. C. – V sec. d.C.). In: La peinture murale antique: méthodes et apports d'une approche technique, Actes du colloque international, Louvain-la-Neuve, 21 avril 2017, Quasar, Roma, p. 125–148.
20.
MaranoM.Mortars and pigments under the microscope. In: CavalieriM, TomassiniP, editors. La peinture murale antique: méthodes et apports d'une approche technique. Actes du colloque international, Louvain-la-Neuve, 21 avril 2017. Roma: Quasar; 2021. p. 58.
21.
AllagC, GrotembrilS.Le rôle des sous-couches. In: CavalieriM, TomassiniP, editors. La peinture murale antique: méthodes et apports d'une approche technique. Actes du colloque international, Louvain-la-Neuve, 21 avril 2017. Roma: Quasar; 2021. p. 210.
22.
BevilacquaN, BorgioliL, Adrover GraciaI.I pigmenti nell'arte dalla preistoria alla rivoluzione industriale. Saonara: Il Prato editrice; 2019, 77–78.
23.
SakellariouE, TorbaT, PavlidouE, . The Byzantine Church of “40 Holy Martyrs” in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria: pigments and technique. Am Inst Phys. 2010;1203:501–506. doi:10.1063/1.3322496.
24.
RoascioS, ZucchiattiA, CagnanaA.Study of the pigments in medieval polychrome architectural elements of “Veneto-Byzantine” style. J Cult Heritage. 2002;3:289–297.
25.
HeinA, KaratasiosI, MourelatosD.Byzantine wall paintings from Mani (Greece): microanalytical investigation of pigments and plasters. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2009;395:2061–2071.
26.
JordanidisA, Garcia-GuineaJ, StratiA, . Byzantine wall paintings from Kastoria, northern Greece: spectroscopic study of pigments and efflorescing salts. Spectrochim Acta A. 2011;78:874–887.
27.
DaniiliaS, TsakalofA, BairachtariK, . The byzantine wall paintings from the Protaton Church on Mount Athos, Greece: tradition and science. J Archaeol Sci. 2007;34:1971–1984.
28.
VoroninK, KabanovaM.Chemical-technological research and radiocarbon AMS dating of wall painting fragments from the ruins of the XIIth-XIIIth centuries AD church from archaeological excavations in the city of Smolensk, Russia. Heritage Sci. 2020;8:45. doi:10.1186/s40494-020-00389-w.
29.
BakilerM, KirmiziB, Ormanci ÖztürkÖ, . Material characterization of the Late Roman wall painting samples from Sinop Balatlar Church Complex in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Microchem J. 2016;126:263–273.
