Conservation Environmental Assessment and Microbial Distribution of the Songsan-ri Ancient Tombs, Gongju, Korea

After occurrence of Cyanobacteria in 1997, Songsan-ri tombs located in Gonju have been investigated to monitor for biological damage. The room temperature of Tomb No.6 was 18.6~19.8°C and the relative humidity was 94.3~99.9%. The temperature of Royal Tomb of King Muryeong was 17.3~18.53°C and the relative humidity was 73.2~96.45%. The variation of relative humidity increased after setting up air vents. If the outside temperature increases, dew condensation occurs on the floor and the north side. When conditioning equipment operates, the maximum temperature differences between walls is 2.8°C. Bacteria from the air of the tomb and on the surface of the walls outnumbered fungi. 20 species of fungi including Alternaria sp., Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., and 19 species of bacteria including Pseudomonas sp., Arthrobacter sp., are identified. Microbes in the tombs may damage cultural heritage. The growth possibility of microbes should be estimated because the microbes in the tombs may damage mural painting. The interrelation between microenvironmental condition and biological damage of mural painting should be researched to 170 | 보존과학회지 Vol.30, No.2, 2014 come up with an long-term conservation method.