A blog for all those who work on Pompeii and the other archaeological sites of the Bay of Naples.
Sunday, 7 March 2010
House of the Moralist ...
Take a look at these photos of the facade of the House of the Moralist, taken this morning by Rick Bauer. I am lost for words.
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5 comments:
Hi everyone,
Yes, I came across the syringe sticking out of the mural around 09:30 AM Sunday morning, while I was taking photos along via dell’Abbondanza.
I was absolutely stunned and speechless!
Rick
Syringes are frequently used for injecting consolidation materials underneath frescoes to keep them attached to walls. But they aren't usually left there after the work is done! I wonder if the syringe got stuck, that the conservator left it in too long and the plaster (or whatever consolidating material used) hardened.
Here's a photo of mine from 2002, when conservation students from Torino were working in the Casa del Principe di Napoli: http://flic.kr/p/7JfXKv
Yes, I wondered the same as Francesca. You often see conservators working in this manner on remnants of plaster, although syringe is generally removed. However, the conclusion that people resorted to as per the syringe are the result of somewhat shady activities that have historically occured when security is lacking at such a large site. I've come across all sorts of rubbish in some of the back rooms in the last 5 years. Sad. But let's hope this isn't the case, that in fact this is an attempt to preserve what little programmata remain at Pompeii in situ.
It surely must be to do with conservation. But why is it not roped off? Any tourist could rip it out of the wall and cause further damage.
Dr Berry's concern is the same I had.
There was absolutely no protective arrangement set up. In fact, there was no one around in that area period. On the ground next to the wall was the discarded blue tip from the syringe. It was if the person just went by, injected the sealent center mass into the fragile plaster (right thru part of the red lettering), and walked away.
As Dr Berry noted, anyone could have easily walked along and tugged the syringe out of the wall (along with parts of the fragile plaster). You can already see the damage around the insertion point of the syringe.
Rick
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