Earliest evidence for asbestos composites linked to Byzantine wall paintings production

• Asbestos composites in 12th century Cypriot Byzantine wall paintings.
• Direct evidence for the earliest use of chrysotile in 12th century finish coatings.
• Earliest known precursor to the modern engineered cementitious composites.
• Combined SEM–EDS and micro-Raman spectroscopy for the characterization of asbestiform fibres in Byzantine wall paintings.

Evidence suggests that asbestos, a fibrous form of serpentine or amphibole was discovered and used in Cyprus since ancient times. In the first century AD, Pedanius Dioscorides in his treatise De Materia Medica V.138, refers to “λíθoς ἀμíαντoς” [lithos amiantos], a fibrous stone from Cyprus, cleansed by fire that was mainly used to manufacture fabrics. Other ancient Greek and Latin authors make reference to the use of this natural resource mainly for the production of textiles and oil-lamp wicks. Additional known uses of asbestos in antiquity include ceramic production as evidenced by the discovery in Finland of 2000 BC asbestos-tempered ceramic ware. The exploitation and use of this fibrous rock in the manufacture of cements, however, was thought to be a novelty of the late nineteenth century. Here we show that ‘amiantos’ composites were in existence in Byzantine Cyprus, emerging much earlier than the start of the modern asbestos industry. The identification of chrysotile mineral in CaCO3-rich uppermost plaster coatings, just beneath the paint layer, in twelfth century Byzantine wall paintings in the Enkleistra – place of reclusion – of Saint Neophytos, provides direct evidence for the earliest use of asbestiform fibres in wall-painting finish coatings. We demonstrate that Byzantine monks were familiar with the fabrication of asbestos-fibre composites and their superior properties over more common CaCO3/organic fibre plasters, traditionally used in Byzantine wall painting. We support that chrysotile fibres were exploited for their good physical, flexural, and insulating properties.

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