Pompeii: Project Analysis

959 Words2 Pages

A research project known as the Anglo-American Project was undertaken in 2001 until 2003 to study region VI, insula 1 in Pompeii. It was a joint effort involving the University of Bradford in Britain and the Italian archaeological authorities, the Soprintendenza Archaeologica di Pompei. The purpose of the project was to conserve the buildings of the insula, complete the academic research and present the results to the wider public. By recording and preserving what has been already exposed, the project aimed to raise awareness and improve understanding of the ancient city of Pompeii. The insula includes two substantial houses, the House of the Vestals and the House of the Surgeon, as well as bars, inns, workshops and apartments. The AAPP thus …show more content…

It commenced in 2001 with the aim of halting the widespread decay that afflicted the ancient site of Herculaneum, and to develop a sustainable maintenance programme following immediate conservation. The project focuses on the urgent situations for structures and decorative features. It has been successful in reducing one of the major causes of decay by limiting water infiltration and pooling, as rain has a weathering and eroding effect that hastens the fading of paintings and frescoes. Rainwater damage also includes collapse of buildings, such as the crumbling wall of the Temple of Venus in Pompeii revealed in Source G. The ancient sewer network has been reinstated and since 2008 this drainage system has been used to collect and channel at the water towards the sea. Ensuring the protection of decorative features such as mosaics, frescoes and plasters is also difficult because they are often exposed to decay phenomena from the Mediterranean weather and climate of the Campania region. At the beginning of the Herculaneum Project, the state of decay of the decorations was very serious. It was common for individual features to experience multiple conservation problems, including plaster coming away from masonry, flaking of fragile paint layers, detachment and loss of mosaic tessarae. Part of the project involved safeguarding all the decorative features in a single building, working on a house by house basis, and performing conservation actions across the site where necessary. Since then there has been a general improvement to the overall stability of Herculaneum. Due to this success, many areas which were closed due to the fragility of their decorative features have now been reopened. Despite achieving its primary aim, the challenge now is in transforming this emergency works campaign into

Open Document