Pompeii and Herculaneum: Restoration by NGOs
Good afternoon.
There are many organisations that exist to keep the amazing cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum alive. They run continuous projects that aim at the restoration of these two sites to help keep them available for as long as possible for future generations to see and future archaeologists to excavate. Without these NGO’s, Pompeii and Herculaneum would most likely not be visible to us today.
Excavations have been taking place in Pompeii and Herculaneum since before the 1800s. The attempts at preservation of these two historical archaeological sites have been continuous for years, and technological advances have played a large part in the protection of these sites.
Over the past 50 years countless projects for preservation have existed as the sites have slowly decayed throughout time due to manmade destruction and natural causes. The destruction includes paintings experiencing exposure to light and buildings being worn away by weather conditions, water damage and erosion, bad excavation and reconstruction methods, theft, vandalism and even bombing from WW2.
National and International organisations have been collaborating with the Italian Government for years to protect and conserve this World Heritage Site. One of the biggest National organisations attempting to conserve the site is the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompeii.
The Soprintendenza is currently restoring Frescoes at the Villa of Mysteries using laser technology which removes protective layers of paint that have been applied over centuries to bring the frescoes back to their original form as much as possible.
The Soprintendenza has also collaborating with the Packard Humanities Institute since 2001 as a part of the Herculaneum Conservation Project. In this project, they focus on the infrastructural problems such as roofing and drains, upper levels of buildings and fragile wooden materials.
The World Monuments Fund also has a project running called
There are many organisations that exist to keep the amazing cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum alive. They run continuous projects that aim at the restoration of these two sites to help keep them available for as long as possible for future generations to see and future archaeologists to excavate. Without these NGO’s, Pompeii and Herculaneum would most likely not be visible to us today.
Excavations have been taking place in Pompeii and Herculaneum since before the 1800s. The attempts at preservation of these two historical archaeological sites have been continuous for years, and technological advances have played a large part in the protection of these sites.
Over the past 50 years countless projects for preservation have existed as the sites have slowly decayed throughout time due to manmade destruction and natural causes. The destruction includes paintings experiencing exposure to light and buildings being worn away by weather conditions, water damage and erosion, bad excavation and reconstruction methods, theft, vandalism and even bombing from WW2.
National and International organisations have been collaborating with the Italian Government for years to protect and conserve this World Heritage Site. One of the biggest National organisations attempting to conserve the site is the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompeii.
The Soprintendenza is currently restoring Frescoes at the Villa of Mysteries using laser technology which removes protective layers of paint that have been applied over centuries to bring the frescoes back to their original form as much as possible.
The Soprintendenza has also collaborating with the Packard Humanities Institute since 2001 as a part of the Herculaneum Conservation Project. In this project, they focus on the infrastructural problems such as roofing and drains, upper levels of buildings and fragile wooden materials.
The World Monuments Fund also has a project running called