A chapter of the digital monograph: Site conservation
NOTE: on this topic, cf. also the dedicated topical book on “CONSERVATION”.
For further details cf. the section about the conservation of the Palace walls in the dedicated digital book.
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Initial impetus
My initial interest in conserving architectural remains at Mozan began in a rather unorthodox manner. There was no specific planning, much less any “high level decision-making,” as N. Agnew (2001, p. 7) rightly indicates should otherwise normally be the case. It was rather a very low level set of decisions, springing from a sense of dismay at the danger the harsh local climate posed to the results of our own painstaking work. It was exactly as Agnew states: “typically, […] shelters have been built as a one-off, ad hoc venture.” (ibid.) There was little more than common sense to guide me, and Agnew’s statement (op. cit., p. 14) well describes my initial effort: “Often there is a naïveté when it comes to designing and constructing shelters which translates into a self-deception that the shelter will function well. Perhaps this arises from a natural enthusiasm for the project, the opportunity to create the shelter, and the lack of perceived need for review and critique.”
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External critique
I was fortunate in that I did in fact, as if heeding Agnew’s warning, perceive the need for review and critique, and was greatly assisted in this respect by our friends and colleagues at the Getty Conservation Institute, whom I approached in the late 90es. The first suggestion, from Jeanne Marie Teutonico, was to undertake a comprehensive monitoring system. This I instituted in 2001, and I can now offer the complete record for this project.
Also since the beginning, Neville Agnew and Martha Demas followed very graciously the project, and in 2004 they came for an extended visit to Mozan. With them I have reviewed periodically the progress of our work, and continued to benefit immensely from their knowledge and experience (see e.g. Agnew, Demas 2004).
It was also through their interest that our project received a grant from the Getty Conservation Institute to conduct an experiment on the Temple, about which I also report separately.
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From temporary to potentially permanent
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
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