| http://dbpedia.org/ontology/abstract
|
Pompeii and Herculaneum were once thriving … Pompeii and Herculaneum were once thriving towns, 2,000 years ago, in the Bay of Naples. Both cities have rich histories influenced by Greeks, Oscans, Etruscans, Samnites and finally the Romans. They are most renowned for their destruction: both were buried in the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. For over 1,500 years, these cities were left in remarkable states of preservation underneath volcanic ash, mud and rubble. The eruption obliterated the towns but in doing so, was the cause of their longevity and survival over the centuries. For both cities, however, excavation has brought with it deterioration. Both natural forces and human activity (whether accidental or deliberate) have played their part in the slow disintegration of the sites. Many agents of deterioration play a role in these conservation issues. Paintings being exposed to light, buildings being worn away by natural forces and water damage due to inappropriate excavation and reconstruction methods, as well as theft and vandalism all play a part in the slow decline of the sites' integrity. As stated by Henri de Saint-Blanquat: The city's second existence began with its gradual rediscovery in the 18th century. But just when Pompeii was being rediscovered, it began to die its second death. Not only because the early excavations, carried out over two hundred years ago and again in the 19th century, often turned out to be more of a massacre — what fun to carry off statues and fling around inscribed bronze plaques! — but also because all the remains preserved by the catastrophic explosion, were now exposed to the extremes of the weather, to vegetation and to man... Pompeii suffers from pollution, the worst forms of damage are of human origin. — Henri de Saint-Blanquat, Science et Avenir No. 469, March 1986 The ancient city was included in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund, and again in 1998 and in 2000. In 1996, the organization claimed that Pompeii "desperately need[ed] repair" and called for the drafting of a general plan of restoration and interpretation. In order to effectively establish widespread conservation efforts across both sites, the Packard Humanities Institute in collaboration with a "Soprintendenza," a branch of the Ministry of Culture (Italy), organized private-public partnership to subsidize and contract restorative projects.bsidize and contract restorative projects.
|
| rdfs:comment |
Pompeii and Herculaneum were once thriving … Pompeii and Herculaneum were once thriving towns, 2,000 years ago, in the Bay of Naples. Both cities have rich histories influenced by Greeks, Oscans, Etruscans, Samnites and finally the Romans. They are most renowned for their destruction: both were buried in the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. For over 1,500 years, these cities were left in remarkable states of preservation underneath volcanic ash, mud and rubble. The eruption obliterated the towns but in doing so, was the cause of their longevity and survival over the centuries.longevity and survival over the centuries.
|
