Subsurface water-content identification in a crypt using GPR and comparison with microclimatic conditions

The effects of climate, pollution and human negligence cause severe and sometimes irreversible damage to buildings and monuments of cultural interest. It is well known that the presence of water and/or moisture content in a porous material is the initial cause of deterioration. In a previous paper, the authors reported an integrated study on a building of cultural importance, namely the crypt of the Cattedrale di Otranto in Apulia, Italy, based on non-destructive integrated biological and physical surveys. The method described was able to identify the 'internal' factors responsible for deterioration. It was discovered that the distribution of moisture in the stone depended mainly on adverse environmental conditions, and the presence of wet buried structures in the ground.