Modern Archaeology and Reconstruction Issue

Modern Archaeology and Reconstruction Issue

Source 4

Photo of modern excavation and reconstruction –

(shown below in sample HSC)

Source 5

…. reconstruction provides us with a means of visualising past environments, allowing us a glimpse of the past that might otherwise be difficult to appreciate.

Kate Devlin and

Alan Chalmers

University of Bristol

Using the Sources and your own knowledge, assess methods used by archaeologists and/or other specialists to reconstruct the past at Pompeii and/or Herculaneum.

[About 30 lines – 1 ½ pages]

·  (Begin with some type of debate ,therefore it will be an assessment)

·  Methods of reconstructing the past at Pompeii and Herculaneum have developed over time to become controversial and ethical issues

·  Debates whether or not to reconstruct are particularly prominent in current times

·  If an area is dangerous to excavate there has to be some consideration for the safety of the archaeologists themselves

·  When Fiorelli was active from 1863 he introduced innovations to the science of learning about Pompeii

·  The hollows in ash he filled with plaster created images of bodies, first allowed us to reconstruct their deaths.

·  However the methods used had flaws (unknown at the time)

·  The greatest was the shrinkage of the plaster when it dries , distorting the true shape

·  Fiorelli’s later positioning of the bodies was a reconstruction and open to discussion and interpretations.

·  Like all reconstructions done by Fiorelli and later by Maiuri under the Italian Fascist project images and figures were idealised images that held only a degree of historical “truth” and were politically based

·  Under Maiuri Pompeii was the showcase of Italian superior culture and his reconstructions would echo this ideology.

·  Modern attempts at conservation and reconstruction are being more carefully planned as evidenced by Source 4

·  Though Francis argues that the conservation and reconstruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum are now impossible tasks due to half hearted previous attempts and tampering ,new methods are making it easier for archaeologists to reconstruct what happened

·  The value of reconstructions as outlined in Source 5 are great but cannot sacrifice the truth

·  New reconstruction and conservation methods such as the new roofing in source 4 ; the epoxy resin casting used in the Lady of Oplontis and the new Neopolis Project dedicated to minutely record images and archaeological data on an accessible data base computer “will lead to an advancement of archaeological understanding of Pompeii .” Settis

·  With regard to the Lady of Oplontis the epoxy resin used with that body was see through and allowed all those different scans to be much more effective.

·  The positioning of the skeleton demonstrated exposure to extreme heat at the time of death (e.g. feet pulled back)

·  First x-ray done of a body from Pompeii. It was cast in resin and brought to Sydney by Estelle Lazer who preformed the x-ray. It marked an innovation as new technology was used.

·  Recent work that meets modern criteria of care and accumulation of data is evidenced in Sarah Bisel’s work on the Herculaneum boatyards.