Greece’s Caryatids getting extreme makeover
The restoration work, which started in 2011 and is expected to finish in June, is surrounded by a white fabric screen to protect visitors from eye-harming laser beams, as three goggle-wearing conservators use custom-designed lasers to zap away soot and grime from the marble maidens.
![]() |
Costas Vassiliadis cleans one of the striking statues which were created in 420 BC [Credit: AP] |
It takes about seven months to cleanse each of the larger than life-sized statues, which were carved around 420 BC. Conservators use a technology developed especially for the Acropolis sculptures, employing two infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths so as to avoid causing discoloration or abrasion, while leaving intact the patina, that orange hue that the statues took on with the passage of centuries.
“The laser beam hits the black crust formed on the surface of the statues over the years, and that absorbs energy and disintegrates,” head conservator Kostas Vassiliadis mentioned. “The crust has a much lower resistance threshold than the marble, which is not affected.”
One of the six Caryatid figures, removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, is now exhibited in the British Museum in London. The Acropolis Museum houses the other five original figures, which are replaced on-site by replicas.
Author: Konstantinos Menzel | Source: Greek Reporter [May 08, 2014]
Labels
ArchaeoHeritage,
Archaeology,
Breakingnews,
Europe,
Greece,
Heritage,
More Stuff,
Southern Europe
Post A Comment
No comments :