Organic materials in the wall paintings of the Vesuvian area

The main goal of the present paper is to add some data to the study of the painting techniques used by the Roman painters in the wall paintings of the Vesuvian Area. This study presents the results by using different analytical techniques on samples from several archaeological sites. The final purpose is to add analytical data to the already published literature on the topic of Roman painting such as the papers by Varone and Bearat on an excavation in Pompei along via dell’Abbondanza where the authors suggest that more than one painter worked together using contemporary fresco and tempera techniques. The authors indicate that some collected fragments could contain an organic substance, though there is no certainty about which type of substance.