Overview

Giorgio Buccellati – June 2010

Procedures

In 2001, following a recommendation of our colleagues at the Getty Conservation Institute, it was decided to start keeping systematic records of humidity and rainfall. The primary purpose was to assist in monitoring the site conservation project. It was also decided that it was safer to entrust the record to a local individual rather than relying on automatic devices.

One of our local assistants, Ibrahim Khellu, was chosen for this task. He has been following through during the years with great accuracy. He would note down the figures in a notebook, and then transfer them periodically to an Excel file. The quality of this record is remarkable, and it is much to Mr. Khellu’s credit.

Both the thermometer and the hygrometer were kept in Mr. Khellu’s courtyard, at a distance of about 300 yards from the Palace.

Two readings were taken each day, around noon and in the early evening.

Organization

The original template was set up by Federico Buccellati, who also supervised over the years the data entry being done by Mr. Khellu, from the point of view of the format and general accuracy.

In 2010, Stefania Ermidoro assumed responsibility for the overall coordination of all the data, within the purview of the wall conservation project, for which the temperature/ humidity record had originally been designed. The data as presented here have been prepared by her for the browser edition, on the basis of Mr. Khellu’s original input.

The full record

The record is presented here in charts divided by year, and by season within the year.

The format is self-explanatory. Readings were taken twice a day, generally in late morning and late afternoon. The precise time is give in the second column.

There are then two columns with the readings of the temperature in degrees Celsius, and two of the humidity, given as a percentage. Occasionally, a reading was missed, and the corresponding cell is left blank.

The last column indicates the presence or absence of rainfall. In later years, the amount of precipitation was also added.

The chart is presented in strictly tabular form, so it can easily be copied and pasted into a spreadsheet program of choice.

Averages

This chart give the monthly averages for temperature and humidity, for the all years, in sequence.

Here, too, the data are given in tabular form, for easy import into other programs.

Graphic rendering: temperature and humidity

Finally, a graphic rendering summarizes the data with 3-D lines. Each chart corresponds to a month, and they are grouped by season within each year. Different colors are used for different seasons.