This is the overarching question that HSLL researchers Jernej Markelj, Ida Kraševec and Matija Strlič, together with Josep Grau-Bove (Institute for Sustainable Heritage, University College London) and Evy Vereecken (KU Leuven and Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage), have investigated in a novel study published in the renowned journal npj Heritage Science under the title "A [...]

A new study by HSLL researchers, published in npj Heritage Science, sheds new light on the acidic emissions produced during the degradation of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), a material widely found in heritage collections. In the paper titled “Poly(vinyl chloride) degradation: Identification of acidic degradation products, their emission rates and implications for heritage collections”, Špela Pok, [...]

Ancient Egyptian mummified bodies smell ‘woody,’ ‘spicy’ and ‘sweet’, finds a new study led by researchers from the University of Ljubljana, revealing new details about mumification practices. The research, published in Journal of the American Chemical Society, is the first time that the smells of mummified bodies have been systematically studied combining a mix of [...]