Chapter 79 - Environments in Archeological Museums in the Mediterranean Region

Abstract

The preservation of archeological objects in museums has been subject to much research. Objects can be degraded by humidity, pollution, ultra-violet light, and light in the visible spectrum. While the information is available and most archeological museum curators in the Mediterranean region are aware of this, the implementation of appropriate conservation techniques is lagging. Having said this, the condition for the visitors is often poor, overheating being a considerable problem, and the acoustics create difficult listening conditions where there are guides and can otherwise cause annoyance; also, the viewing conditions are poor. Some museums have no heating or cooling, many just have heating and few have lulled air-conditioning. Steps are being taken to improve the museum environment for the visitors but these generally involve fitting full air-conditioning leading to considerable increase in energy consumption and hence carbon dioxide emissions.