Structural interventions on the drums of the Parthenon’s north colonnade

• Main Author: Marilena Mentzini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gruppo Italiano Frattura 2017-04-01
• Series: Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale
• Subjects: Classical Monuments; Drums; Fracture; Restoration; Titanium reinforcement; Parthenon; Acropolis of Athens
• Online Access: http://www.gruppofrattura.it/pdf/rivista/numero40/numero_40_art_9.pdf

The Acropolis monuments are globally recognized as a cultural heritage and a value belonging not only to Greece but also to Humanity. From 2000 the most recent phase of restoration in their history began by the “Acro¬polis Restoration Service” (YSMA), introducing new, pioneering methods, re-cognized now worldwide. Especially the restoration of the Parthenon’s North Colonnade is an enormous work-plan to be carried out (extended area of inter¬vention, great number of members to be restored and high degree of damages). Moreover, the structural stability of the Parthenon’s north colonnade is among the most import¬ant challenges confronted by experts work¬ing in this sector. The complexity of this effort (a combination of scientific research and direct field ap¬plication) makes the implementation of the resto¬ra¬tion project dif¬ficult, rendering its division into smaller projects (for similar structural members) a necessity. In this direction, characteristic examples of the procedure followed for the structural intervention on the drums are presented in this paper. Each member’s report includes a short history of its restoration, the intervention steps, pictures/sketches and the methodology chosen for its structural study, focusing on the particularities of the member and the in-field realization [1].