Most
archaeological sites we can visit nowadays date from Roman times. In the 2nd
century AD, Rome
reached its apogee under the reign of the five "good" emperors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius,
and Marcus Aurelius.
They constructed monumental public buildings, and the houses of the Roman
citizens were also lavishly decorated, often with frescoed walls and telling mosaic floors.
The best-known
examples are the houses and villas in and around Pompeii and Herculaneum. Still, many sites in Greece
(like Pella and Vergina) and Turkey (like Ephesos and Sagalassos) also treasure such
striking walls and floors.
Some mosaic
floors are left in situ where
they rightfully belong, in which case they need to be protected from the
elements. Shelters for this purpose are then constructed. However, even these
shelters need to be maintained, which is not always the case.
Another way of
protection is to cover the mosaics with a tarp held in place with a layer of
gravel. This procedure requires less maintenance as only the edges have to be
checked. Many curious visitors will be tempted to push the tarp and the gravel
aside to look underneath. The mosaic floors are "eaten" away from the fringes without careful and repeated care.
Anyway, this manner
of preservation is a favorite among archaeologists because it requires
little or no maintenance. However, plants' roots may damage and
displace the tiny tesserae.
The most
appropriate way to save a mosaic is to remove it from its spot and entrust it
to the care of a museum where it hopefully will be on display.
Such removal is
very time-consuming and expensive as the top layer of the tesserae has to be detached
from the existing floor in one piece. For this purpose, archaeologists use a
large wooden cylinder around which the mosaic is rolled face down. A facing of two layers of fabric and an adhesive are applied to prevent
losing tesserae or
damaging the surface during this tricky operation. The entire mosaic floor can then be moved
to its new location using a panel of aluminum honeycomb and resin following the most recent techniques.
When strolling
through a museum, the visitor is seldom aware of the effort and delicate work
involved in displaying the mosaics for us to enjoy. We better take a closer
look next time we visit a museum!
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