INVESTIGATING RECONSTRUCTING AND PRESERVING THE PAST

Transcription

1 INVESTIGATING RECONSTRUCTING AND PRESERVING THE PAST Part 1: the changing methods of archaeologists and contributions to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum

2 Things to consider relationship between the purpose of excavation and excavation practices. gradual emergence of better archaeological excavation practices Looting, treasure hunt, artefacts as prize possessions, Building materials Curiosities Include stripping of wall frescoes Millennium and a half of looting. Tunnelling at Herculaneum Early 1800 s Pompeii -Random excavation for tourism and treasure hunting. Remains of the past as valuable heritage Artefacts and site remains of equal value Public ownership versus private collections Systemmatic practices in excavation Emergence of conservation and preservation practices

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6 Nineteenth century: Fiorelli methods and contributions. Systemmatic process,moving from house to house rather than random searches. Fiorelli followed line of roads moving from the excavated to unexcavated parts. (ref to current policy) 3/5ths of site now cleared. Clearing of earth dumped in excavated houses and recognition that houses were as significant as the objects in them. Result understanding of house styles, the site as an example of a regional town Excavating buildings from top down and from inside out. Result stratigraphic approach enabled understanding of process of burial and collapse of buildings, and ability to restore buildings and interiors ( but not frescoes and mosaics still stripped and transported to Naples) Plaster poured into cavities to reveal people and animals at moment of death. Also furniture and fittings revealed e.g. wooden shutters of windows, doors of shops. (ref to application to shape of roots now). System of naming and numbering buildings; 9 regions mapped and entrances numbered; allowed consistency in discussions about specific buildings. Names to streets of Pompeii so that they could be discussed clearly (instead of broad latin terms decumanus and cardo). Via dell Abundanza Beginning of an understanding of Pompeii as a complete town, and understanding of the houses, shops, taverns and roads as part of life in the town.

7 Late 19 th and early 20th Century Mau late nineteenth century, early 20 th - Mau is an example of the changing purpose of excavation a change to understanding of the remains of the past and also the emergence of analysis of the finds. classified fresco styles into structural style, architectural style, ornamental style and fantastic style (first to fourth styles) Differentiated between Greek influences on art and Roman art. Understanding of the progressive styles of frescoes, and expansion of knowledge of housing conditions.

8 Archaeology and restoration concept Spinazzola an example of a further evolution of archaeological excavation to include restoration and also the impact of modern technology on recording and analysis. Completed excavation along Via dell abundanza Reconstructed facades of buildings (revealed busy street of shops, house entrances, bakeries, taverns). Revealed appearance of upper floors of houses, open and well lit floors compared to ground floors with few windows. Began photographic record of the site.

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10 Twentieth century continued Maiuri emergence of problems of conservation and preservation Rapid excavations especially in war and postwar years. Few buildings protected; by 1957 one third of known paintings had faded significantly, and in the following 20 years another 50% were lost. Increasing tourism and atmospheric pollution caused deterioration of excavated buildings and decorations. Excavated the necropolis along the southern wall (Necurian gate) and the Villa of the Mysteries. Underfunded and so houses not well restored and abandoned. Stratigraphical research beneath AD 79 level acknowledged earlier existence of Pompeii before 79AD.

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12 Amedeo Mauri director from made an effort to improve the infrastructure of the two towns. Unfortunately many of the materials used were mostly concrete and steel which were not only different to the original materials but ultimately damaged the original structure even further.the alkaline in the masonry reacted with the ancient walls producing soluble salts which migrated to the surface causing the surface to crumble as in the House of the Coloured Capitals

13 After Maiuri Zevi Stopped excavation in favour of restoration First photographed all frescoes and mosaics at Pompeii to build a complete archive of decorations. Documenting whole walls rather than cutting out smaller pictures and parts of mosaics. Irelli Began campaign to raise awareness of need for funds, restoration work simultaneously with excavations on both sites. Conticello Pompeii forum project, Anglo American project; cooperation and use of computer technology to enable imaging reconstruction of houses, complete study of an insulae. Mapping work and cataloguing work

14 GUZZO 1995 TO 2009 Better funding because of revenue from tourism now retained by Soperintendanza Private investment now allowed World cooperation Limited digging in already excavated areas (or limited nucleii e.g. House of Papyrii) Focus on stabilising and conserving. Strategies to limit impact of tourist damage Application of new technologies to preservation works as well as analysis of objects and buildings excavated in the past.

15 Statement by Guzzo About 1500 buildings, 1,000,000m³ of walls, 20,000m² of decorative mural paintings, 2000m² of mosaics and hundreds of excavated objects give an idea of the vast efforts put into restoring the Pompeii site and the work carried out, at an estimated cost of 258,288,450. Knowledge has been gradually extended and up-dated, then computerised and included in a database. This computerised processing method provides rapid access to information and enables it to be used to take decisions about the work to be done. At the same time, all new information received in our field is inserted in the database as it is received, allowing access to information that is constantly updated (and thus useable). The correlation between the growing number of visitors and the area open to the public, equivalent to 30% of the excavated area, has shown human impact to be the main factor to be taken into consideration on the Pompeii site.

16 Summary: Changing attitudes of archaeologists 1. The nineteenth century changes: 1. A change from ignoring the buildings and roads and the removal of artefacts as objects for collections, to the recognition of the sites as valuable remains. 2. A change from from removing artefacts and frescoes and mosaics for display only to catelogueing, examining and interpreting 2. Late Twentieth century changes: 1. A change from excavation without protecting the exposed buildings and decorations to the elements 2. A change from removing artefacts to preserving them in situ if possible 3. A change from unrestricted tourist access and increasing damage 4. A change from limited funding

17 Changing methods Systemmatic, planned excavation Removal of debris and stabilisation of sites Recording full details of each object and building Identifying human remains Reconstruction of buildings Using modern technology to record and to examine remains Emerging emphasis on responsibility to not only expose remains of the past and examine them but also to preserve remains and conserve what has not been lost to decay.

18 Resulting UNDERSTANDING The two towns as entities, the differences between them Housing styles, fresco styles, evolution of these Artefacts in situ rather than removed: the understanding of the lifestyle of the inhabitants, social classes, occupations, technology, economy Trends such as religious diversity, influence of Egyptian and Greek cultures, Roman influences