Computed Tomography with X-rays and Fast Neutrons for Restoration of Wooden Artwork

The objects of this investigation were sculptures taken from a ca. three hundred years old baroque epitaph of a church in Tönning, a town in Northern Germany. Around 1900 it was found in a disastrous state heavily damaged by wood-worm. At that time, the whole artwork was treated with the tar extract carbolineum as a remedy. Nowadays, this substance has been identified as carcinogenic, and its presence can be perceived by its stench and visually at certain spots on the surface where it has penetrated the covering paint.