It's All a Matter of Time: Exploring the Past, Present and Future of Artworks through Dating, Authentication, Material Characterization, Monitoring and Restoration

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of dating has taken on new meanings that go beyond the temporal location of the cultural asset, including aspects of technological evolution, the genesis of the creative process and the evolution and deterioration of the works themselves, both in terms of their material composition and the artist’s intention. Artworks can be seen as witnesses of their own time that tell their own story of identity and culture as they allow us to connect with the past, reflect on the present and build a perspective for the future. Only careful time management can help to preserve and conserve works through monitoring and restoration measures.

This Special Issue aims to gather together papers from the 2024 National Conference of the Italian Archaeometric Society, but the ultimate goal is to open up, through original research articles and review papers, to the worldwide community and provide insights into the new frontiers of dating in the widest possible sense. Absolute dating techniques such as radiocarbon, thermoluminescence and dendrochronology—among the first scientific applications in the field of historical, artistic, and cultural heritage—but also analytical techniques for the study of cultural heritage that provide information related to the passing of time, such as degradation processes and the evolution of the materials used, are suitable topics, as detailed below.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

• Absolute and relative dating: methodologies and examples of application of dating techniques;
• Indirect dating and authentication: historical contextualization and verification of temporal compatibility;
• Materials over time: technology, degradation, and conservation: the evolution of materials over time and their degradation, and processes and protocols for monitoring the state of conservation;
• Historical reconstructions and stratigraphy: reconstruction of changes and historical phases, analysis of provenance, contextualization in space and time;
• Evolution of diagnostic techniques over time: technical and technological evolution of analytical methodologies applied to cultural heritage;
• Temporal data processing and analysis techniques: algorithms, methodologies, and the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the processing and analysis of data series that evolve over time;
• Communication and use of cultural heritage: methods and examples of cultural communication of the past to future generations.

Dr. Letizia Bonizzoni
Dr. Valeria Comite
Dr. Anna Galli
Dr. Rosina Celeste Ponterio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Heritage is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• dating
• authentication
• conservation
• degradation
• archaeometry
• material characterization