Old interventions and potential new treatments for Maya mural paintings in Tulum (Mexico)

This paper presents preliminary results from research at the Maya archaeological site of Tulum. A long-term project was initiated in 2010 in order to understand the alteration and decay of the buildings and their interior and exterior mural paintings. The specific area of the research presented here comprises both a review of the site’s history of interventions and tests aimed at identifying aged polymers and eliminating them in order to recover the readability of the paintings. Tests were also undertaken to assess the feasibility of cleaning the paintings with oil-in-water microemulsions and of stabilizing the buildings and plasters in the aggressive tropical climate of Tulum. The preliminary results of these tests and analyses are presented here.