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

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

really so significant? Does the sight of a sidestreet running into the main street, the almost head-height drain running under both of them, a few bases of the bordering portico columns, and the foundation walls of the frontages of the houses which lined the streets really make a visit to the excavation site so interesting? When I was engaged to make the plans along with Gyula Hajnóczi in 1992, we were reminded of the ruins preserved in the basement of the MÁV headquarters, also in Szombathely. Hajnóczi had been coming to Szombathely regularly for 30 years, and even when he was writing his book on Pannónia he did not succeed in getting a view of the ruins. The question can be put quite simply: should remains restored with the best intention be left to the city, in the same way as the MÁV headquarters basement, the Roman Camp Museum in Óbuda, the Geisler Eta utca exhibition in Pécs, or the tastefully-restored details in the Locomotiv Tours basement in the Forum in Sopron? Is their such an interest in ancient monuments that what has not aroused interest elsewhere will attract visitors in Szombathely? In 1992 there was relatively more area for archaeological display than there is now. There was a possibility of using the basement level of the neighbouring building, where we planned an atmospheric Roman deversorium (small inn). The visitor would reach the basement level from the ground floor by a staircase through the portico. The internal height down to the Roman pavement level could have been provided by opening op the floor. The visitor was led through the crossroads - a sunken „pedestrian crossing" - into the reconstructed interior, providing a view of the drain. Unfortunately the plan - like so many others - remained only a plan. The developer was unable to finance construction of a multi-storey shopping centre. Years passed, the ruins gradually decaying, until another developer appeared with a somewhat more modest project. The direct surroundings of the min had to be reduced, but the developer wanted to retain the original display idea, if not as an inn (under today's circumstances it would not be possible to install a kitchen) then as a little café. It was proposed to provide the space for this by demolishing what were considered to be less important elements: half of the N-S street and the frontage of the houses and portico facing the square. The approach proposed in 1992 was thus rendered somewhat haphazard, and the original purpose, display of the N-S road, the section of the Amber Road leading through the town, was completely swept aside. The ethical question that arose was whether a piece of the 2000 year-old predecessor of Szombathely should be demolished in order to build a café which may quite possibly be incapable of maintaining either itself or the ruins. After several months' argument, conservation had to give way. The developer did not understand the problem. He would have provided the structure of the café and the facilities for displaying the crossroads. He was sure that an investor could be found to buy the over 400 m

2 area and build the café occupying 160 nr and carry out conservation of some 250 m

2 of archaeological excavation. Six months of negotiation have failed to produce such an entrepreneur and I am highly doubtful that this will change. Under such circumstances, I am of the opinion that an architect or monument conservator can only argue in favour of the retention and upkeep of the remains in complete a state as possible. Less damage will be done if we rebury the crossroads or try to give a view of the ruins from ground level over as large an area as possible. The debate continues, but is heading in this direction. If the developer, the OTP bank, agrees that about 25 m of the floor of the customer service area be glazed with security glass, then at least the connection of the drain at the crossroads, a few square metres of road surface, and the comer of the street portico will be visible. The comer column of the row of arcades could be reconstructed if the minimum quantity of elements needed are found. With this rather extended introduction, I have attempted to demonstrate - and this view is not alien to European thinking on the subject in the 1990s - that planning of restoration and display cannot be confined to the narrow concerns of architecture and conservation. First and foremost, it is the responsibility of archaeologists and architects to guarantee the „viability" of exhibition.