Dambulla Cave Temple murals: tempera painting layers and moisture conservation?
How do archaeological conservators prevent soluble salt efflorescence and flaking on the 2,100 square meters of ancient tempera murals inside Dambulla caves?
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4 Answers from travellers
The rock ceiling murals of Dambulla Cave Temple were painted in true secco tempera using mineral pigments (yellow orpiment, cinnabar, green earth, lampblack) bound with plant resins over a thin slaked-lime plaster. Conservation teams from the Central Cultural Fund monitor microclimatic humidity. High visitor volume exhales water vapor that elevates interior humidity above 80%, dissolving internal gypsum and sodium chloride salts inside the granite. When humidity drops, salts recrystallize on mural surfaces (efflorescence), flaking off fragile paint layers. Ultrasonic misting and gentle poulticing with Japanese tissue extract salts safely.
Flash photography is strictly banned inside all shrines; high-intensity light pulses degrade organic yellow and red tempera binders over time.
External drainage grooves cut along the cliff brow divert monsoonal water away from cave ceilings, preventing subterranean moisture infiltration.
Do not touch painted surfaces; skin oils attract fungal mold that permanently discolors white makulu clay pigments.
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