Creation of an encyclopaedia of natural organic pigments of the Mediterranean area and their applications in the form of database.

One of the main outcomes of the proposed project will be a database containing all the results of the project, always relating to the cultural heritage of the Mediterranean area. In particular the encyclopaedia will include: (i) information regarding natural dyestuff sources such as plants, insects and mollusks, (ii) commented ancient recipes for the production of mordant dyes and evaluation of dyestuff extraction conditions and relative preparation conditions on the pigment performance , (iii) standard protocols for dye production and application compiled on the basis of reconstructed old recipes, techniques approbation and optimisation, (iv) description of the processes and steps involved in the production of corresponding standards, (v) analytical results for the tested art objects and (vi) a glossary of terms allowing to render these recipes into current technical vocabulary. The database will operate obeying to a series of search criteria.

Objective 4 will be achieved within WP 9. The encyclopedia will contain the results of the project including those obtained in WP 8. Encyclopaedia will be formed at the 6 th month of the project (start date of WP 9) and will be periodically updated until the end of the project. Overall results will be then included and disseminated.