In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně, workers from UniCRE wrote and in the middle of June they also christened books „Dekorační kameny Čech, Moravy a Slezska“ and „Vápence a písky Čech, Moravy a Slezska“. Publications are mainly helpful for the employees of the National Heritage Institute, conservators and other experts who are professionally engaged in restoration of monuments. They allow them to find suitable materials for renovations easier. Publication of the books was preceded by a five-year detailed survey in 155 quarries in the Czech Republic.

The publications present the results of the five year lasting research of materials that are mined in 155 quarries in the area of Czech republic. They report their chemical composition, physical properties and descriptions of the quarries. Furthermore they provide an overview of the history of their use in building and other details about their mining and processing. "Publications will enable professionals to find materials with properties that are close to the properties of the original materials used in the construction of historic buildings", explains Petr Koutník, one of the authors.

"Books are a huge help for all those who are involved in conservation work. There was a long lack of similar publications in our professional world. They are a valuable source of informations that will help during looking for authentic materials necessary for restoration of damaged monuments. Both the books about decorative stones and the one about sands are very useful because for mixing cement and mortar to rebuild the facade it is necessary to find such sand that matches the original composition as close as possible", says the restorer Libor Pikslák from Litoměřice about the two books.

"I am glad that everyone who has participated in this project managed to bring it to a successful end. I wish more projects were successful like this and I hope that the books will be a good tool and a source of information", summed up the work of his colleagues František Svoboda, the director of UniCRE.

The survey of the quarries was conducted within the framework of the project entitled "Mineral resources for the restoration of cultural heritage", which was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in frame of the programme NAKI. Another outcome of the project is a website http://kamenolomy.fzp.ujep.cz/index.php. UniCRE dedicated the samples of stones that were collected and described during the research to the Municipal Museum of Ústí nad Labem.