Photographs of the Athenian Acropolis --
The Restoration Project will be on display in the Lawrence Gallery through November 18.

 

The photographs, documenting in great detail the long-term restoration of the Acropolis, were done by Socratis Mavrommatis, chief photographer of the Acropolis Restoration Service. After 27 years of work the project met one deadline, the 2004 hosting of the summer Olympics in Greece, but the restoration continues on this large and important site.

 

Restoration in the context of a historic site usually does not mean returning the site to "original" status. The effort is to balance reinforcing, renewing, replacing and/or conserving, in great detail, what is and what was, but not to the extent that it looks new. The aging aspect of the Acropolis is essential for understanding the context of the original and the passage of time.

 

Some of the buildings were completely dismantled and reassembled. Conservation efforts in the past were not always conducive to long term stability. For example, iron rods rusted, expanded, and broke the marble they were supposed to protect. Present-day environmental pollutants have attacked the surfaces of the marble so much that in some instances the original artifacts were removed and placed in local museums to preserve them, and contemporary copies were put in their place.

 

This exhibition is an opportunity to see in great detail parts of the Acropolis not readily accessible on a visit. The internal wall structures, carved figures on friezes, capital details, and much more are revealed and available for close examination.