Salinity effects on cultural heritage sites with focus on the tomb of the kings in Paphos, Cyprus

The impact of salt is a process that accelerates the degradation of historical sites or buildings and consists of a major problem mainly of coastal sites. Cyprus as an island rich of cultural heritage, has a great impact on its sites from sea salinity as its eastern Mediterranean location stands as one of the most salinity environments in the world. This paper focuses on a preliminary investigation which relates the effects of salinity to cultural heritage sites.More specifically, the Tomb of the Kings located at the southwest coast of Paphos, Cyprus, in close proximity to the seashore and sea water spray effects. The Tomb of the Kings is a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of underground monumental burial structures, carved out of solid rock dated between the 4th century BCE – 3rd century AC. The methodology used to measure the site’s salinity levels exploit a micro and macro approach with in situ measurements, laboratory analysis, and remote sensing techniques to correlate and cross validate the results. The main purpose of this study is to create a salinity risk assessment framework, able to analyze how this phenomenon can affect the coastal heritage sites. Preliminary results have highlighted areas of higher and lower concentration of salts at the site, but further investigation are of paramount importance to fully understand the behavior of salinity and how it is linked with degradation and conservation aspects of the Tomb of the Kings.