Issues of conservation and reconstruction (Vesuvius) PDF

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Issues of conservation and reconstruction Threats to Pompeii and Herculaneum 

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In 1997 UNESCO listed seven key threats to the preservation of Pompeii and Herculaneum: pollution, natural disasters, theft, poor planning, inadequate site management and conservation, excessive excavation and tourism. Although action has been taken to address these problems, they still remain today. The two cities have almost 2,000 buildings, many kilometres of streets and thousands of square metres of decorated walls and flooring. Most are still vulnerable to the abovementioned threats. One of the worst disasters in recent years was the collapse of part of the House of the Gladiators (the Schola Armaturarum) in November 2010. That same month, a large section of the garden wall of the House of the Moralist collapsed, as did an ancient shop and an ancient brothel the following month. Tourism remains the main form of revenue to fund conservation efforts, yet it is also one of the main threats to the site.

Poor restoration work 

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A lot of the reconstruction work in the two cities has been done by local firms which lack the specialised skills needed to do it properly. For example, the timbers used to restore the roof in the House of Meleager were too weak to support the tiles. The roof promptly collapsed, causing damage to the rest of the house. Poor quality mortar has been used to restore stonework, leading to decay and collapse. Plaster has been reattached to walls with low quality adhesive, causing it to crack and sometimes collapse. Some frescoes and mosaics have been covered with glass to protect them, but this has created a moist microclimate that has damaged the works.

Damage from vegetation 

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Over thirty different varieties of weeds have invaded the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Their roots have caused cracking in thousands of square metres of stonework, plasterwork and mosaics. Algae, fungi and lichens have also caused damage in areas that are poorly drained.

Environmental factors 

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Earth tremors in the Campania region have caused damage to excavated areas, and possibly also to unexcavated ones. There have been more than 70 eruptions since the big one in AD 79. The more recent was in 1944, when Vesuvius spewed laver over the surrounding area. When the frescoes were first painted, it was never intended that they be exposed to the rain and the sun, let alone pollution. Since being excavated, most have faded dramatically, particularly in thelast forty years. Some have disappeared altogether. 1

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Pompeii still has no functioning drainage system, so suffers damage from groundwater. Herculaneum had the same problem, but this was fixed when the original drainage system was reactivated as part of the Herculaneum Conservation Project (commenced in 2001). Pigeons have also caused significant damage. They peck at the carbonised wood, and their droppings are acidic, causing damage to wall decorations and floors. Trained falcons have been used of late to scare the pigeons away. Stray dogs were also a problem in Pompeii in the 1980s, but these have now been removed and the site properly fenced off to prevent their return.

Poor site protection and management 

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Between 1975 and 2000, over 600 artefacts were stolen from Pompeii and Herculaneum. Frescoes have been cut from the walls, causing damage to the surrounding paintings, on-site museums and storerooms have been robbed. Most have not been recovered. It is suspected that the Camorra, the Calabrian Mafia, may be responsible for some of these thefts – bribing guards and other workers to give them illegal access to the sites. Tourists are able to walk around the sites unsupervised, and there are very few guards to prevent them from stealing items or entering sensitive areas that are supposed to be closed to the public. (At any one time, there are only 23 guards in the whole of Pompeii.) Tourists are also allowed to eat while wandering, allowing rubbish to collect at the sites. Finally, bags have not been properly checked as people have entered the sites, thus encouraging theft from the sites. The level of security has improved in the past 15 years, but is still far from perfect.

Italian and International contributions and responsibilities Italian Contributions 

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Up until 1997, the Italian government took all revenues from tourism in Pompeii and Herculaneum, and returned only a small percentage to the superintendent of the sites for management and conservation. Since then, however, the government has allowed the Superintendent of Pompeii to keep all the revenue, and use it manage and maintain the two ancient sites. This has increased the budget considerably, allowing more to be spent on preservation of endangered streets, buildings and houses. The superintendent has also been allowed to raise revenue via international partnerships, such as the European Union’s 30 million euros five year conservation program. On July 4th 2008, Italy declared a state of emergency at the ancient sites around Naples, and appointed a special commissioner to oversee urgent preservation activities. Power was returned to the Superintendent in 2010. He now has authority over Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae and Boscoreale, as well as the antiquities museum in Naples.

International contributions

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The Venice Charter is a 1964 agreement outlining the principles by which ancient sites and artefacts should be conserved and restored. It has provided a model for archaeological activity at Pompeii and Herculaneum over the last 50 years. Since the mid-1990s, various joint venture projects have been set up between the Italian government and international organisations. These include the Anglo-American project (to re-examine an insula near the Herculaneum Gate), the Philodemus Project (to read the charred rolls recovered from the Villa of the Papiri), the Pompeii Forum Project and the Herculaneum Conservation Project (to shore up buildings, improve drainage and use falcons to deter pigeons). In 1997, UNESCO declared Pompeii and Herculaneum to be World Heritage Sites.

The impact of tourism 

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With over 2 million tourists visiting Pompeii each year, and half a million visiting Herculaneum, the cities have more traffic in a year than they would have experienced in the century prior to the eruption. Paths have been worn down, and lead pipes exposed. In ancient times, these would have been replaced, but this is not happening today as it would reduce the authenticity of the sites. The construction of a large restaurant in Pompeii has impacted the site, as has the need for plenty of public toilets. Tourists have caused considerable damage to the site, stealing pieces of pottery, painted plaster and mosaic tile. They have also scratched their names into the walls of buildings, and damaged plaster with their sticky fingers and swinging backpacks. In 1986 a group of tourists pushed over a stone column in one of Pompeii’s houses. Many houses have been closed to the public as a result of such damage. Since 1997, however, all the revenues from tourism have been made available to the Superintendent of antiquities, so there has been a lot more money for conservation in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Even so, it is likely that the negative impacts of tourism still outweigh the positive ones.

Protection, restoration and conservation 

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Protection refers to measures to preserve antiquities. It involves such actions as the closure of streets, buildings and rooms to reduce the impact of tourism, the addition of roofs and protective coverings for frescoes and other wall markings to protect against vandalism and the elements, and reinforcing walls, to prevent them from collapsing. Restoration refers to the reconstruction of objects or buildings, so that they more closely resemble their original state. Many of the structures in Pompeii and Herculaneum have been restored, particularly the second floors of buildings, which had collapsed under the weight of pumice and ash. The purpose of restoration is educational: to give people a better picture of what the object or building must have looked like. Of course, this can be controversial, as they might not actually have appeared this way. Herculaneum, for example, has been restored to Amedeo Maiuri’s conception of how it must once have appeared. An alternative to actual restoration is digital imaging, to show how an object or structure may have appeared without interfering with the original. The advantage of this method is that many different restorations of the same artefact can be undertaken, allowing competing visions to be viewed. 3

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Conservation refers to the process of ensuring that objects and structures are available for future study and enjoyment. It is a very difficult process, involving archaeologists, researchers, scientists and curators.

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