Microbial deterioration of archaeological marble: Identification and treatment

Microbial deterioration of archeological marble was studied on samples taken from three locations in Cairo, Egypt; Mohamed Ali palace, El-Ghory Mosque and Mosque of El-Kady Abdel-Baset. Sampling resulted in 110 microbial isolates, identified as eight fungal genera, three bacterial genera, one actinomycetes genus and six algae. Isolated strains were all identified up to species. The inhibitory effect of five antimicrobial agents at various concentrations was investigated against the growth and development of these microbial isolates. Sodium azide at 100 ppm was found to be the best treatment for both fungal and bacterial isolates. Colored spots, caused by microbial growth, were treated by different synthetic and natural chemical substances. Results showed also that microbial enzymes produced by Aspergillus flavus isolate was the best decolorization treatment.