Mònica López-Prat
Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Researcher
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7026-5720
Scopus: 55419965300
Email: monica.lopez@ub.edu
Short biography
My academic background is based on an interest in art and archeology, which was rapidly geared towards the “material” conservation of cultural heritage. After carrying out a bachelor’s degree in History (UB, 1998) and a Diploma in Conservation and Restoration of Archaeological Materials (Escola d’Arts i Oficis de Barcelona, 2001), my early incorporation into the professional world as a Research Support Technician in an archaeological research centre of the Autonomous University of Barcelona allowed me to quickly put into practice the academic knowledge I had acquired. Among all that carried out during the period as a conservator-restorer at UAB, I would like to emphasize my participation in numerous national and international archaeological research projects. However, my interest in continuing to learn and improve led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Conservation-Restoration (UB, 2014) and, after break for maternity purposes, to pursue a PhD in Conservation-Restoration of Cultural Heritage (UPV, 2021) with the thesis “Monumental Terracuda Sculptures: a technological analysis based on historical-archaeological evidence and the study of traditional knowledge”.
Research interests
My research focuses on the technological and archaeometric study of “monumental terracruda sculptures”, a type of artefacts characteristic of the Silk Roads mainly linked to the Buddhist period of this region and usually found in archaeological contexts. This interest led me to study the traditional knowledge for the manufacture of monumental terracruda sculptures, preserved in some regions of India and the Himalayas and how their scientific study can help the conservation interventions of examples found in archaeological context and inspire new restoration treatments based on the behaviour of the green materials employed in their making. Results stemming from my research have been published in highly ranked peer-reviewed journals and books chapters.
Selected publications
- López-Prat, M., Lancelotti, C., Campo-Francés, G., … & Miriello, D. (2022). The role of plants and fibres in modelling monumental terracruda sculptures of the Silk Roads: archaeobotanical analyses from the Buddhists sites of Tepe-Narenj and Qol-e-tut (Kabul, Afghanistan). Heritage Science, 10 (1), 1-16.
- López-Prat, M., Agostino, R. G., Bandyopadhyay, S. R., Carrascosa, B., Crocco, M. C., De Luca, R., … & Miriello, D. (2021). Architectural Terracruda Sculptures of the Silk Roads: New Conservation Insights Through a Diagnostic Approach Based on Non-Destructive X-ray Micro-Computed Tomography. Studies in Conservation, p. 1-13.
- López-Prat, M., B. Carrascosa, D. Miriello, J. Simón-Cortés, and S.R. Bandyopadhyay (2021). An ethnographic approach to developing new conservation strategies for the archaeological clay-based sculpture of the Silk Road. In Transcending Boundaries: Integrated Approaches to Conservation. ICOM-CC 19th Triennial Conference Preprints, Beijing, 17–21 May 2021, ed. J. Bridgland. Paris: International Council of Museums.
- López-Prat, M. (2014) “Sculture buddiste di argilla nell’Asia Centrale: problemi di conservazione e restauro” Sharing Conservation: Terra, p. 77-86, Atti del Convegno Sharing Conservation 2. Pluralità di approcci alla conservazione e al restauro dei manufatti polimaterici: Terra, MUSEI VATICANI, ISBN 978-88-8271-331-7.
- López-Prat, M. (2012) “Buddhist clay sculptures in Central Asia: conservation and restoration problems”, MILETO; VEGAS & CRISTINI (eds.) Rammed Earth Conservation, p. 669-673, Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-62125-0.