A műemlékek sokszínűsége (A 28. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1998 Eger, 1998)

Előadások / Presentations - MEZŐS Tamás: What in german is known as „Bodendenkmalschutz”

ensure that hardly any of these people leave in the belief that the principia or camp wall that they have seen is actually what the Romans built. On the other hand, they greatly appreciate an exhibition in the „original" environment. Restoration „.. .stops where hypothesis begins..." as point 5 of the Venice Charter puts it. The set out here clearly specify the intention and approach of monument conservation as regards reconstruction. In practice, however, things happen differently. The foremost example is German monumental conservation, which rejects the Charter in any case. The intention of archaeologists meets with the endeavours of restoration architects and, significantly, with the demands of visitors. We would like to both display the scenes of lives past and to find out about them. Reconstructions of prehistoric monuments as they are imagined to have been are drawn up by investigating remains of buildings which once existed and have been left to decay or been deliberately destroyed, perhaps by burning. The technique known as experimental archaeology has provided much useful information for studying prehistoric building structures. A similar attempt was made by Gundolf Precht, the archaeologist-architect director of the Xanten archaeological park, for his reconstruction designs. Remains of the same types of buildings found in Italy and the provinces were researched as thoroughly as possible, and used as the basis for drawing up the plans. Construction followed the technology and building practices of the time. This technique was applied in Xanten to build one of the town's two-storey inns, which included a restaurant, bath and guest rooms. The fittings and murals in the restaurant and guest rooms resulted in authentic Roman interiors, even if they were not reconstructions of remains found at the site itself. Public health regulations naturally prevented the kitchen from being a Roman reconstruction, but the bath, for example, is a working and authentic copy in every respect. The amphitheatre was reproduced along similar lines. The experimental programme includes measurements of structural damage, wear of stair treads, etc. by visitors (whose numbers are of course precisely known) to draw conclusions regarding the building's original use. The park presents a magnificent spectacle to several hundred thousand visitors every year. Even taken together with this fact, the experimental programme was not regarded as sufficient justification by the author of the reconstruction. The unique historical fate of Xanten was also a good reason for selecting the site. The medieval settlement was not built on top of the ruined ancient Colonia Ulpia Traiana. After the 4th century, the Roman town was repeatedly used as a stone quarry, and its elements were almost completely incorporated into the houses of the new town, and especially into the walls of the 13th century cathedral. In consequence, reconstruction resulted in hardly any damage to the original remains, since in most cases the original ground layout could only be determined from the holes left from stolen foundations. The decades which have passed since that first reconstruction of Saalburg in 1898-1907, and especially since the Augst villa's construction in 1955 (Augusta Raurica) have seen many reconstructions, the notable ones being mainly in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Britain. In the last five years there has been an interesting change perceptible in the literature of German monumental conservation, which has been responsible for the most reconstructions. In 1994, complete reconstruction was considered a feasible and acceptable approach. At Koldevey-Gesellschaft's biennial general congress of 1996, however, several speakers prescribed caution for the technique, and declared it only applicable where there was very good reason. In the organisation's congress in May 1998, reconstruction was unequivocally held to be a bad and contraindicated form of display. Upkeep of ruined monuments is particularly difficult in continental climatic conditions. Rain, wind and cycles of winter frost gradually - and without maintenance, quite quickly - take their toll of archaeological remains. The surest form of protection is to put the remains in a protective building. It was probably in Hungary that one of the first separate buildings protecting ruins in Europe was constmcted. In 1776, under special permission from Maria Theresa, István Schoenwisner enclosed the remains of the Themae Maiorese