Colours revealed ‒ Polychromy of Roman monuments of the Danube provinces (PolychroMon)

While the proven colourfulness of ancient stone monuments in the Mediterranean region has increasingly entered the general consciousness, only few data on the situation in the Roman provinces are available so far. The present project therefore aims at a comprehensive investigation of the polychromy of Roman stone artefacts (mainly sculptures and architectural elements) in the Noric-Pannonian region. In interdisciplinary cooperation, aspects such as polychromy as a means of visual design, ancient colour symbolism or the use of different painting techniques will be investigated. A special research focus is on objects of the Mithras cult from Carnuntum and the Vienna Basin and the significance of colour in a religious and ritual context.

Tauroktony relief from the area of the auxiliary fort of Carnuntum inv. CAR-S-99 (©AMC/N. Gail)
Tauroktony relief from the area of the auxiliary fort of Carnuntum inv. CAR-S-99 (©AMC/N. Gail)

Development of investigative methods

The aim of the material-analytical investigations is to detect the remains of pigments that were once applied, even if they are barely or no longer visible to the naked eye. Supplemented by classical methods of light and electron microscopy, the focus is on non-invasive methods. In addition to digitisation and modelling, primarily multi- and hyperspectral analyses, light spectroscopic methods and X-ray fluorescence analysis are used. Exploring the possibilities and limitations of current techniques is an integral part of the project, as is the development of new methods.

 

Multispectral analysis of the tauroctony relief
Multispectral analysis of the tauroctony relief

Project goals

The project crosses archaeological and chemical-physical data and combines scientific and cultural-historical questions in order to open up new fields of research and of application for monument conservation, museology and knowledge transfer.

Light and electron microscopic investigations of cross-sections of an ancient painting layer (minium) on a Roman statuette from Carnuntum (from top left to bottom right): Light microscope image, backscattered electron image and elemental distribution maps of calcium, silicon, phosphorus and lead

KHM-Repository

KHM-exhibition

Publications (As of September 2025)

  • G. Kremer – R. Linke – G. Plattner – E. Pollhammer – M. Brzakovic – R. Krickl – N. Silnovic – V. Pitthard, Minerva in Colours : First Results on a Polychrome Roman Sculpture from Carnuntum (Pannonia), Heritage 6/7, 2023, 5213–5241, https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6070277.
  • G. Kremer – R. Linke – G. Plattner – E. Pollhammer – R. Krickl – N. Silnović, Forschungen zur Polychromie römerzeitlicher Denkmäler in den Donauprovinzen, Acta Carnuntina 13/2, 2023, 4–19.
  • R. Krickl – E. Steigberger, Die Römersteine aus Wien-Hernals als Fallbeispiel zur Machbarkeit moderner materialanalytischer Untersuchungen, in: C. Farka (Hrsg.), Römersteine und spätantike Gräber aus der Ottakringer Straße in Wien-Hernals, FÖ- Beiheft 3 (Wien 2023) 83–88.
  • G. Kremer – R. Linke – G. Plattner – E. Pollhammer – R. Krickl – N. Silnović – V. Pitthard, Ein Löwenaufsatz mit polychromer Farbfassung aus Carnuntum, Carnuntum Jahrbuch 2022 (2023) 43–54, DOI : 10.1553/cjb_2022s33.
  • G. Kremer – R. Linke – G. Plattner – E. Pollhammer – R. Krickl – N. Silnović- S. Stoss, Den Farben der Antike auf der Spur, Denkmal heute 2/2023, 14–17.
  • G. Kremer – R. Linke – G. Plattner – E. Pollhammer – M. Brzakovic – R. Krickl – N. Silnović, Colours revealed – First results on a polychrome Mithras relief from Carnuntum, in: G. Kremer – E. Pollhammer – F. Beutler – J. Kopf (Hrsg.), Zeit(en) des Umbruchs. Akten des 17. Internationalen Kolloquiums zum provinzialrömischen Kunstschaffen, Wien – Carnuntum 16.–21.05.2022, SoSchrÖAI 64 – Veröffentlichungen aus den Landessammlungen Niederösterreich 7 (Wien 2024) 101–110.
  • V. Ljubić Tobisch – E. Hallama – R. Krickl – M. Bianca D'Anna, Interdisziplinäre Forschung: Heritage Science und die verborgenen Geheimnisse von Museumssammlungen, neues museum 24/4, www.doi.org/10.58865/13.14/244/6 .
  • R. Krickl – G. Giester, Pigmentanalytische Untersuchungen an Steindenkmälern aus dem römerzeitlichen Gräberfeld Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge, Flur »Hausfelder am Arbach«, in : R. Ployer (Hrsg.), Der römische Limes in Österreich, 51 - Das römerzeitliche Gräberfeld von Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge, Niederösterreich, RLÖ 51 (Wien 2024) 323–334.
  • G. Kremer, R. Linke, G. Plattner, E. Pollhammer, R. Krickl, N. Silnović, The PolychroMon project – Polychromy of Roman Monuments in the Danubian Provinces, in: Proceedings PRT Rome 9.–12.11.2022, Supplement to the Bulletino della Commissione di Archeologica Comunale di Roma (accepted, in prep.).
  • R. Krickl, Case studies from the project PolychroMon on limits and potentials of multispectral imaging investigations of polychromy on Roman stone artefacts, in: C. Alexandrescu U(ed.), International Colloquium « Stone monuments and lithic building materials in the Roman provinces. Methodological Approaches on Provenance and Resources, Manufacturing, Supply, Use and Re-use, 25–28 April Tulcea 2023 (in prep.).
  • G. Plattner – G. Kremer – R. Linke – E. Pollhammer – R. Krickl – V. Pitthard – K. Hradil, Farbigkeit römischer Architektur in Carnuntum und im Wiener Becken – eine Spurensuche, in : M. Grawehr – J. Lipps (Hrsg.), Colour Schemes in Roman Architecture. Aesthetics, Semantics, and Regional Appropriation, MAPA 4 (Wiesbaden 2024) 149–174 ; https://verlagholzhausen.at/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CRPA.pdf.
  • G. Kremer – R. Linke – E. Pollhammer – G. Plattner (Hrsg.), Colours revealed – Polychrome monuments in the Roman provinces. Detection, interpretation, visualisation. Akten der internationalen Tagung in Hainburg 20./21.03.2024, SoSchrÖAI 66 – Veröffentlichungen aus den Landessammlungen Niederösterreich (Wien 2026, in Druckvorbereitung).
  • G. Kremer – M. Mozdyniewicz – G. Plattner, Colours revealed on the polychrome tauroctony relief from Stixneusiedl, in: Kremer u.a. 2026, i. Dr.
  • R. Krickl – R. Linke – V. Pitthard – K. Hradil, The technical view – Material analyses for polychromy research on Roman stone monuments, in: Kremer u.a. 2026, i. Dr.
  • N. Silnović, Connecting the dots – Color and meaning of Mithras' dress on the tauroctony relief from Stixneusiedl, in: Kremer u.a. 2026, i. Dr.
  • R. Krickl – G. Kremer – R. Linke – G. Plattner – E. Pollhammer – M. Brzakovic – N. Silnović – S. Stoss, PolychroMon – ein interdisziplinäres Projekt zur Polychromie römerzeitlicher Monumente der Donauprovinzen. Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Mineralogischen Gesellschaft 170, 183–190.
  • R. Krickl – G. A. Plattner – G. Kremer – R. Linke – V. Pitthard – M. Mozdyniewicz – V. Anevlavi – W. Prochaska – B. Djurić – E. Siotto, The Roman « Amor and Psyche » Sarcophagus from Sirmium at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. New Insights from First Material Investigations, ÖJh 93, 2024, 177–232, i. Dr.
Principal Investigators
  • Robert Linke
  • Georg Plattner
  • Eduard Pollhammer
Team
Collaborations
Duration

2021‒2026

Funding
  • ÖAW | Heritage Science Austria