Műemlék-helyreállítások tegnap, ma, holnap (A 27. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1997 Eger, 1997)

Előadások - Ismini TRIANTI: Restoration work carried out on the Acropolis of Athen

hundred stones were lowered and the metal elements causing damage were removed. The reposition of the stones to their correct place is in progress. The bad condition of the cornices and architraves of the north colonnade make urgent the intrvention in this side of the monument. Kostam Zambas is now preparing the study. THEPROPYLAIA The construction of the classical Propylaia started in 437 B. C. with the architect Mnesikles in charge and was interrupted in 432 B. C. with the result that the buildings remained unfinished, both in regard to the plan and to the surfaces of the sections which had already been erected. Mnesicles' Propylaia, as it stands, consists of three parts: the central buildings, the north wing and the south wing. Between the west end of the central passageway and the columns of the north and south wings are two small unroofed recesses called „northern recess" and southern recess". The initial goal of the Committee was to deal with the serious problems of the monument stemming from the work of Balanos, which were limited to the central building. In 1982-82, under the supervision of Avgi Tzakou, architect and Mary Ioannidou, civil engineer, the second from south architrave of the east stoa was removed, together with the cement and the iron pieces from the Balanos restoration. The iron elements were replaced by titanium while the spaces that were filled with cement, were completed in new marble. But the greatest problems in the Propylaia were located in the extensive parts of the ceilings restored by Balanos in the central building. They consist of huge marble beams, 6. 30 metres long and weighing about twelve tones, and marble coffer slabs. Under the direction of the architect Tasos Tanoulas and the civil engineer Mary Ioannidou the work was commenced in June 1990. Six coffer slabs were removed from the roof of the east stoa in order to complete the upper surface ot the scaffolds supporting the sky-crane. The ramaining fourteen slabs were dismantled and removed in December of the same year. Following their transposition to the ground surface, the coffers proved that they were much more broken and damaged than what was visible when these were in contact and supported one another. In 1991 the dismantling of the protective layer above the restored ceiling of the western hall has shown the following strata: a lower layer of cement, lime and pumice stone, a middle layer of lime-plaster, a layer of stones slabs. The dismantling of twenty-six coffered slabs from the roof of the westhall was effected in October 1991 with the same method which was used in the dismantling of the coffer slabs from the east stoa. Each restored by Balanos coffer slabs was the result of the combination of numerous fragments which in most instances did not belong to the same original slab. Occasionally new marble was used as a filler. In order to secure the pieces that were assembled for each coffer, Balanos carved channels of square section along the sides of each reconstituted slabjnto which he placed iron bars. The ends of each bar were bent to form right angles, allowing them to be inserted into sockets that had been cut at the ends of the channels. The spaces between the bars and the channel walls were filled with lead. In most of the slabs additional reinforcements were used: on top of the slabs and along their longer dimension iron H-beams were positioned, from which the various fragments were suspended by means of screws. Each screw - hole was effected to great depth in the marbles slabs, often just 1,5 cm from the low visible surfaces. The fragments that constitute the inter-beam vertical slabs were joined with bars similar to those which had been used on the sides of the coffers. In addition common cement was used to join the fragments. When the assembled pieces were found not tc blong to each other, Balanos chipped and smoothed the damaged surfaces which he