For millennia, people of all cultures have decorated the surfaces of their domestic, religious, and public buildings. Earthen architecture, in particular, has been, and continues to be, a common ground for surface decoration, such as paintings, sculpted bas-relief, and ornamental plasterwork. This volume explores the complex issues associated with preserving these surfaces. Case studies from Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas are presented. The publication is the result of a colloquium held in 2004 at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, co-organized by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the National Park Service (NPS). The meeting brought together fifty-five conservators, cultural resource managers, materials scientists, engineers, architects, archaeologists, anthropologists, and artists from eleven countries to present recent conservation work and discuss possibilities for future research and collaboration. Divided into four themes - Archaeological Sites, Museum Practice, Historic Buildings, and Living Traditions - the papers examine the conservation of decorated surfaces on earthen architecture within these different contexts.It is part of the "Getty Conservation Institute Symposium Proceedings" series.

This title explores the issues surrounding the study and conservation of earthen architecture. Earthen architecture constitutes one of the most diverse forms of cultural heritage and one of the most challenging to preserve. It dates from all periods and is found on all continents but is particularly prevalent in Africa, where it has been a building custom for centuries. Sites range from ancestral cities in Mali to the palaces of Abomey in Benin, and from monuments and mosques in Iran to Buddhist temples on the Silk Road and Spanish missions in California. This volume's 64 papers address such themes as earthen architecture in Mali, conservation of living sites, local knowledge systems and intangible aspects, seismic and other natural forces, and the management of archaeological sites. The contributors represent a wide range of international institutions. The book will be of interest to conservators & site managers as well as those studying earthen architectural heritage worldwide.

This volume vividly recounts, for general readers, the Roman town of Herculaneum, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and uniquely preserved for nearly two thousand years. Initial chapters offer an engaging historical overview of the town during antiquity, including the riveting story of its rediscovery in the eighteenth century, excavation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and broad cultural significance in modern times. Subsequent chapters offer an interpretive tour of the ancient town, then focus on one of Herculaneum's grandest and mostbeautifully decorated private residences, known as the House of the Bicentenary. Located on the town's main street, it has a range of features-original rooms, magnificent wall paintings and mosaics, and remarkable documents-that illuminate daily life in the ancient world.Final chapters bring the story up to date, including recent discoveries about the site and its famous papyrus manuscripts, as well as ongoing conservation initiatives.

For millennia, people of all cultures have decorated the surfaces of their domestic, religious, and public buildings. Earthen architecture, in particular, has been, and continues to be, a common ground for surface decoration, such as paintings, sculpted bas-relief, and ornamental plasterwork. This volume explores the complex issues associated with preserving these surfaces. Case studies from Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas are presented. The publication is the result of a colloquium held in 2004 at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, co-organized by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the National Park Service (NPS). The meeting brought together fifty-five conservators, cultural resource managers, materials scientists, engineers, architects, archaeologists, anthropologists, and artists from eleven countries to present recent conservation work and discuss possibilities for future research and collaboration. Divided into four themes - Archaeological Sites, Museum Practice, Historic Buildings, and Living Traditions - the papers examine the conservation of decorated surfaces on earthen architecture within these different contexts.It is part of the "Getty Conservation Institute Symposium Proceedings" series.

This title explores the issues surrounding the study and conservation of earthen architecture. Earthen architecture constitutes one of the most diverse forms of cultural heritage and one of the most challenging to preserve. It dates from all periods and is found on all continents but is particularly prevalent in Africa, where it has been a building custom for centuries. Sites range from ancestral cities in Mali to the palaces of Abomey in Benin, and from monuments and mosques in Iran to Buddhist temples on the Silk Road and Spanish missions in California. This volume's 64 papers address such themes as earthen architecture in Mali, conservation of living sites, local knowledge systems and intangible aspects, seismic and other natural forces, and the management of archaeological sites. The contributors represent a wide range of international institutions. The book will be of interest to conservators & site managers as well as those studying earthen architectural heritage worldwide.

This volume vividly recounts, for general readers, the Roman town of Herculaneum, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and uniquely preserved for nearly two thousand years. Initial chapters offer an engaging historical overview of the town during antiquity, including the riveting story of its rediscovery in the eighteenth century, excavation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and broad cultural significance in modern times. Subsequent chapters offer an interpretive tour of the ancient town, then focus on one of Herculaneum's grandest and mostbeautifully decorated private residences, known as the House of the Bicentenary. Located on the town's main street, it has a range of features-original rooms, magnificent wall paintings and mosaics, and remarkable documents-that illuminate daily life in the ancient world.Final chapters bring the story up to date, including recent discoveries about the site and its famous papyrus manuscripts, as well as ongoing conservation initiatives.