Our university receives a grant to develop research infrastructure

Contemporary science of cultural heritage is an interdisciplinary field positioned at the intersection of the natural sciences and the humanities. Physiochemical data support humanists in deepening their knowledge of heritage places, while conservators and art historians are the best prepared to formulate research questions for the exact sciences. 

The alliance, operating under the name of the Polish node of European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science– E-RIHS.pl (http://www.e-rihs.pl/) – comprises 14 partners: 

1. Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń – leader of the Consortium
2. The Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, named after Jan Matejko
3. AGH University of Science and Technology, named after Stanisław Staszic
4. Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry PAS (Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Centre)
5. Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology
6. Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków, named after Jerzy Haber
7. Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences, named after R. Szewalski
8. National Museum in Kraków
9. National Centre for Nuclear Research
10. Warsaw University of Technology
11. Jagiellonian University
12. Kraków University of Economics
13. University of Warsaw
14. University of Wrocław

The following units of the Warsaw University of Technology participate in the project: the Faculty of Chemistry, the Faculty of Materials Engineering, the Faculty of Mechatronics, and the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography. 

What is E-RIHS ERIC?

E-RIHS ERIC (European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science, https://www.e-rihs.eu/) is a European infrastructure for interdisciplinary research in the field of cultural heritage, established by the European Commission for an unlimited period of time. It is a distributed infrastructure based on the research resources made available by partners. It provides access to laboratories, mobile instruments, archives, data, and expert knowledge, offering groundbreaking research results and up-to-date training. It fosters cooperation between universities, cultural institutions, the creative sector, and citizens. It supports researchers and practitioners in solving complex problems and creating innovative methods of heritage protection.

Its innovation consists in moving away from traditional approaches (“science for art,” “science of conservation”) in favour of an interdisciplinary field in which the exact sciences and humanities combine their potential while retaining equal importance and roles. The current partners of E-RIHS ERIC are: Italy, with the E-RIHS ERIC headquarters, Cyprus, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Hungary, and the United Kingdom, as well as the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) as a permanent observer. 

The Infrastructure's primary activity is to offer free research (Catalogue of Services) to owners of material cultural heritage. The offer includes research in the fields of chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and engineering, carried out in several modes:

• MOLAB – examinations carried out on-site, at the location where the object is stored, by a mobile examination team.
• FIXLAB – analyses conducted using a non-mobile testing facility on objects delivered to the laboratory or, in special cases, on samples taken from the object.
• DIGILAB – access to a range of numerical procedures offered, e.g. in the field of conservation prevention. In the future, this mode will also provide access to research results obtained in MOLAB or FIXLAB mode. 

Access to the offer is granted through a review of proposals, which can be filed twice a year. The second call for proposals opened in January 2026, and the implementation of qualified projects is planned to start in August 2026. 

Intended use of the funding granted

As part of expanding and modernising its equipment infrastructure, the Warsaw University of Technology will allocate a significant portion of its funds to the purchase of a liquid chromatography system with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS/MS) for the identification of organic dyes, as well as a stereoscopic microscope with a camera for the photographic documentation of the samples under examination. 

“This measurement system will enable the non-standard identification of new, previously uncharacterised dyes used in historic buildings. With its help, we will determine the identities of unknown compounds present in samples, including degradation products of organic dyes. By tracing and learning about the pathways of their formation, we will be better equipped in the future to identify dyes in extremely degraded objects. The advantage of this system is its ability to reduce the amount of material needed for testing while maximising the amount of information obtained in the analytical process. This is particularly crucial in the case of unique samples, which are often limited to less than a milligram,” says Katarzyna Lech, PhD.

It will also be possible to introduce a rapid screening procedure for analysing historical samples in solid form, using a micro-destructive DART ion source that minimally interferes with the sample, without the need to extract colouring compounds from the samples. A stereoscopic microscope with a camera will allow for high-quality photographic documentation of samples before and after the analytical stage, enabling researchers to assess their colour and condition, as well as the invasiveness of the procedure used and the effectiveness of extraction," adds the researcher.

Uniqueness of the research setup

Within the Consortium's entire offering, this will be the only research infrastructure capable of examining and identifying organic dyes (natural and synthetic) in cultural heritage objects, such as various textile products, coloured paper objects (wallpaper, banknotes, maps), parchments, inks, wall and rock paintings, as well as polychromes, paints, and paint chips from paintings.

The purchased LC-HR-MS/MS system will be installed in the newly renovated spectroscopy laboratories in the Chemistry Building of the Faculty of Chemistry at the Warsaw University of Technology at ul. Noakowskiego 3. The laboratories are prepared for the installation of the new system and will enable stable and effective operation of the system.

Research team

A team with over twenty years of experience (currently led by Katarzyna Lech, PhD) is researching historical artifacts using LC-MS technology. The first global report on the use of HPLC-MS in the study of cultural heritage objects appeared in July 2003 and resulted from the work carried out by this team at the Chair of Analytical Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Warsaw University of Technology. Since then, scientists have continued to expand their expertise in archaeometric studies of organic dyes. The experience gained is valued both in Poland and abroad.

The team conducted research and expert analyses as part of projects or on behalf of numerous public institutions and companies, including the National Museum in Warsaw (textile objects), the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (textile objects), the Jagiellonian University Museum Collegium Maius (Coptic and other textiles), the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw (sealing cords), the Museum of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Prussian textiles), the National Museum in Krakow (Kościuszko banknotes), Polskie Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytków S.A. (Chinese tapestry from the collection of the Museum – Castle in Łańcut), the Laboratory for Research and Conservation of Historic Fabrics of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow (over 350 fabric samples from Krakow church vestments), the Wawel Royal Castle (Wawel tapestries from the collection of Sigismund II Augustus), the National Archives in Krakow (the seal cord of the charter of the city of Krakow), the Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów (textile products), the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (carmine lacquers and wallpapers from 1830–1860), Wawel Cathedral  (chasubles) and in cooperation with private conservators.

New research techniques and methodologies implemented within E-RIHS.pl and the European Infrastructure as a whole will give new impetus to cultural heritage research. This applies in particular to new, non-invasive techniques for examining the structure, condition, and dating of objects.