Authenticity and Restoration: The Benefits of Historical Studies on Re-Examining the Implemented Restorations in Persepolis (original) (raw)
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Town' was to contribute to the conservation of the stone monuments of the imperial site. As part of the activities dedicated to this purpose, a diagnostic study was carried out. Various aspects were considered: petrographic characterization of the stone, forms and factors of decay, and in situ testing of suitable conservation treatments. The present paper reports on the unexpected results of the study on the finishing of architectural surfaces. The results obtained on a limited, but nevertheless significant, number of samples collected from the monuments of the imperial Terrace, allow us to state that the dark grey limestone used for several (or many?) monuments was covered on purpose with a thin, fine whitish layer containing fluorapatite, as major component, and calcite. It is highly probable that the fluorapatite was obtained from calcined animal bones and that slaked lime was used as a binder. Further evidence for this is the discovery of a kiln with the remains of calcined bones and, nearby, a waste pit with animal bones containing fluorapatite. A second white layer, obtained with barium sulphate, was detected in one of the samples beneath the external, earthy encrustation. It could be perhaps interpreted as the remnants of a polychrome finishing.
Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan (AMIT), 2014
Thanks to the 2014 excavations campaign at Tol-e Ajori, Persepolis (Fars), the Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission has been able to acquire new information on this building, which can now be safely interpreted as a monumental Gate built on the plan model of the Neo-Babylonian Ishtar Gate of Babylon. The preliminary report presented here on the three trenches excavated in 2014 illustrates the archaeological evolution of the building, from construction to destruction, and provides evidence for a series of comprehensive remarks on its topographical context and function, as well as its still uncertain chronological position within the Early Achaemenid period. The study of the glazed brick decoration, while confirming imitation of the Ishtar Gate in iconography and technique, shows significant differences from the glazed bricks used in both Susa and Persepolis and offers a basis for characterization of the craftsmanship involved in their production.
During the last decade heavy interventions on historic monuments are faced, that go beyond the level of the ordinary conservation and restoration or partial reconstruction, thus putting on the table the question of the preservation or rehabilitation within the contemporary society, through their total monumental reconstruction. There are cases that these methods instead of supporting the values of authenticity, on the contrary, they jeopardize them, disputing, by this way, the most essential criterion for the evaluation of the historic monument.
The Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l’Art Arabe: Towards a Balanced Appraisal
The Arabist: Budapest Studies in Arabic
The Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe The Comité, as it is usually called, was founded by Khedive Tawfīq in 1881 and was active until 1953, when it merged into the Antiquities Organization, the predecessor of the present-day Ministry of Antiquities. Its task was the conservation of Arab-Islamic (later on also Coptic) monuments of architecture in Egypt. 2 This was the period of classical colonialism, of massive European intervention in the affairs of Egypt; therefore it is understandable that a sudden appearance of interest in the Comité's activities has been witnessed in recent years, not least within the framework of the Saidian discourse on Orientalism. The activities in question lend themselves to various, multifaceted interpretations on account of the complex nature of the subject. Scholarly discussion has hardly begun, and thus it will take time before reasonably solid, final conclusions can be arrived at. In the meantime it may be hoped that a discussion will ensue helping us elucidate various aspects of this intricate subject. It is with this aim in mind that an analysis is offered here of certain theses and statements in a book by Paula Sanders that was published on this subject some time ago (2008). In this context some basic questions concerning the Comité's activities, along with their ramifications, will also be dealt with. It is important that controversies and differing opinions should be pointed out and formulated clearly so that they become accessible to the academic community. The activities of the Comité have become a highly sensitive topic: it consisted partly of foreign members, who were not Muslims, and it worked mainly on mosques. Therefore it is of absolute importance that only reliable and substantiated statements should be propagated in this context and that one should clearly differentiate between proven data on the one hand and suppositions and hypotheses on the other. 1 We have two sketches of the Comité's history at our disposal: Speiser 2001:47-94; Reid 2002:213-257. Speiser's fresh approach is that of an architect active in the conservation of Cairo. In the present paper, the words "waqf" and "waqfiyya" will not be italicized. 2 In a broader sense, the term "conservation" also covers restoration and reconstruction.
Preserving Transcultural Heritage: Your Way or My Way? Questions on Authenticity, Identity and Patrimonial Proceedings in the Safeguarding of Architectural Heritage Created in the Meeting of Cultures, 2017
ABSTRACT This paper examines the religious structures constructed during the golden period of the Ilkhanid architectural patronage, around 1300, in Central Iran. These structures reflect the cosmopolitan character of the golden age of the Ilkhanid architectural proliferation, marked by the reigns of Ghazan Khan (r. 1295-1304) and Oljeitu (r. 1304-1316). It aims to contribute towards a reappraisal of the value of these monuments and to shed light on the issues surrounding the architectural heritage preservation of the Silk Routes. The paper discusses the history of restoration interventions on these structures and debates the challenges regarding the preservation of Ilkhanid and Islamic stucco revetment in situ.
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Archaeological excavations of the 20th century at Persepolis, have yielded groups of clay tablets and bullae, found in three locations at the site : the northeastern fortifi cation, the Treasury building, and the Mountain Fortifi cation. The following remarks compile observations, most of them unavailable to earlier discussions, on the circumstances of the deposition and discovery of these groups.
Archaeometry, 2018
The studies on the finishing technique of the stone monuments in Persepolis (Iran) are part of the archaeological project jointly launched in 2008 by Iran and Italy, named 'From Palace to Town'. The first experimental results, obtained on a very limited number of samples, revealed that the Achaemenid builders and sculptors used a white pigment, a kind of bone white, calcium fluorapatite, obtained by burning animal bones, to hide the dark grey colour of the stone. In order to verify these unexpected results, a new campaign was implemented to analyse a much larger number of samples. XRF spectrometry, a non-destructive technique, was used and the experimental results were further elaborated by PCA. The presence of a white superficial layer was confirmed, and the use of fluorapatite was confirmed as well, but only on monuments attributed to the Xerxes period or later, while in the earlier monuments the white layer was obtained using gypsum.