Archaeological reconstruction

Reconstructing the lost monuments of Antiquity became, after 1800, a complement to Europe's colonial imagination. Countless archaeologists and architects travelled to the East, excavated extinct cities, and shipped their finds to Europe for display in imperial museums.

Antiquity on Display is a critical biography of Berlin's Pergamon Museum and its popular architectural displays: the Great Altar of Pergamon, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. In this volume, Bilsel argues that the museum has produced a modern decor, an iconic image, which has replaced the lost antique originals, rather than creating an explicitly hypothetical representation of Antiquity. Addressing the dilemmas raised by the continuing presence of these displays, which embody the distinctive traits of the artistic and ideological programs of the last two centuries, Bilsel questions what the process of reproduction and authentication of Antiquity in the museum tells us about our changing perceptions of historic monuments. Documenting the process through which these imaginative reproductions of architecture were conceived, staged, and came to be perceived as authentic monuments, this volume offers an insight into the history of Berlin's Museum Island and the shifting regimes of the authentic in museum displays from the nineteenth century to the present.

Keywords: German Archaeology in the Middle East; Museum Reconstructions; Authenticity in Architecture; Architecture Museum; Architecture in the Museum; History of Berlin Museums; Berlin's Museum Island; the Great Altar of Pergamon; Post-colonial studies; Post-orientalist criticism; Alfred Messel, Wilhelm von Bode; Carl Humann; Theodor Wiegand; Robert Koldewey; Walter Andrae; the Altes Museum; the Neues Museum; the Pergamon Museum (Pergamonmuseum).

mei 1989 , 2de jaargang nr.l prijs los nummer ft. 12 , 95 / bfr. 249 TMA is een onafhankelijke tijdschrift dat aandacht besteedt aan het actuele archeologische onderzoek, in het bij zonder dat van Nederland en België, in de Mediterrane wereld. Het overnemen van artikelen is toege staan mits met bronvermelding. Bijdragen

This paper presents in detail a parametric shape grammar for the generation of ancient Greek and Roman library plans. Ancient Libraries showcase a significant variability of scale, monumentality, and design with the use of different architectural components, and researchers cannot identify them as easily as other building types. The grammar is in 2D and captures all the variability of libraries from the simpler forms of the Hellenistic period to the more monumental of the Roman period, creating a vast range of designs. The paper presents the grammar-generated plans of the known libraries based on the evidence in the archaeological record. A frequency analysis of the occurrence of the rules in the derivations ranks the different characteristics of libraries and the architectural forms with which they occur in the corpus, to determine the probability of specific rules and to interpret them as mandatory or optional. The contribution of this work is that the shape grammar summarizes the design principles of ancient libraries visually and helps establish the building type of the ancient library. The frequency analysis assists tremendously in the reconstruction of fragmentarily preserved ancient libraries by providing a system in the reconstruction of the missing parts when ambiguity is involved.

Over the last years, Roman craftsmen’s houses were built at the LVRArchaeological
Park Xanten. In the so-called “House C”, designated for textile crafts, a two-beam loom was reconstructed. The first part of the paper (Gisela Michel) concentrated on the sources that were the basis of the reconstruction. The second part will present the outcome of the weaving that was done during opening hours, in front of an audience. The sleeved tunic that was woven at Xanten is based on a woollen tunic with red clavi from Dura Europos, but was woven as a child-sized version. As a part of this project, which combined practical trial with a transfer of knowledge, several copies of weaving implements like pin beaters and small weaving swords that were found at Xanten were tested. Bit by bit, a typical Roman piece of clothing was woven while visitors could watch and learn about the craft. Apart from gaining experience in working with this special kind of loom and the implements used, teaching the visitors of the APX about typical characteristics of the Roman textile production and raising awareness for the value of textiles in antiquity was a main goal of the project.

Im LVR-Archäologischen Park Xanten entstanden in den letzten Jahren römische Handwerkerhäuser mit rekonstruierten Werkstätten. Für das sogenannte „Haus C“, das dem Thema „Textilien“ gewidmet ist, wurde auch ein Zweibaumwebstuhl rekonstruiert. Der erste Teil des Aufsatzes (Gisela Michel) ist den Quellen gewidmet, die der Rekonstruktion dieses Hochwebstuhls zu Grunde liegen. Im zweiten Teil werden die Ergebnisse präsentiert, die beim Weben vor Publikum erzielt wurden. Als Vorbild für die dort entstandene, in Form gewebte Ärmeltunika diente eine Wolltunika mit roten Clavi aus Dura Europos, die in Kindergröße nachgewebt wurde. Bei diesem Projekt, einer Kombination aus nachahmendem Versuchen und Wissensvermittlung, wurden auch Kopien von Webgeräten nach Funden aus Xanten erprobt. Vor den Augen des Publikums entstand so nach und nach ein typisch römisches Kleidungsstück. Neben dem Erfahrungsgewinn im Umgang mit diesem Webstuhltyp und den Geräten war es ein Hauptziel des Projekts, den Besuchern des APX die typischen Merkmale der Textilproduktion der römischen Kaiserzeit nahe zu bringen und sie für den Wert von Textilien in der Antike zu sensibilisieren.

The Pořešín castle area situated in the Český Krumlov region in South Bohemia has been recently supplemented with the
renovation of several buildings from the mediaeval period that were located in the space between the second and first
forecastle and on the decking under the castle core. Although there is no evidence of these objects caught up within the
castle, it is possible to presume that a build-up area of similar character was located in the castle neighbourhood. The
aim of reconstructions is to bring near broader public living in the area of immediate castle operational background.

mei 1989 , 2de jaargang nr.l prijs los nummer ft. 12 , 95 / bfr. 249 TMA is een onafhankelijke tijdschrift dat aandacht besteedt aan het actuele archeologische onderzoek, in het bij zonder dat van Nederland en België, in de Mediterrane wereld. Het overnemen van artikelen is toege staan mits met bronvermelding. Bijdragen

Das Werk einschließlich aller Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlags unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikro verfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Ver arbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Herstellung durch das atelier eilenberger, Taucha bei Leipzig. Printed in Germany. Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. www.frank-timme.de Umschlaggestaltung unter Verwendung einer Fotografie der Teilnehmer am Marsch entlang der Via Claudia Augusta von Mertingen nach Füssen im Herbst 2010 (© Sebastian Bernhard) sowie einer Detailaufnahme des Triumphbogens von Orange mit der Darstellung von Kampfszenen zwischen Römern und Galliern und erbeuteten Waffen (© Christian Koepfer).

Ricostruzione storica per il racconto della quotidianità: dalle fonti alla narrazione. Contesti archeologici e loro rappresentazione.
A cura di Stefano Ricci Cortili e Marco Valenti.
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Siena, il 10 Maggio 2017 – ore 9,30-14 Auditorium Santa Chiara Lab dell'Università degli Studi di Siena.
Iniziativa, inserita nelle celebrazioni del decennale della scomparsa di Riccardo Francovich. In collaborazione tra Santa Chiara Lab / Università degli Studi di Siena/Archeodromo del Parco di Poggio Imperiale a Poggibonsi.
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Un incontro all’interno del Progetto PRIN 2015 – Archeologia al futuro. Teoria e prassi dell’archeologia pubblica per la conoscenza, tutela e valorizzazione, la partecipazione, la coesione sociale e lo sviluppo sostenibile. Sarà presente per la copertura social in diretta Let's Dig Again (la prima web radio archeologica in Italia).
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- Marco Valenti e Stefano Cortili Ricci – Introduzione ai lavori.

- Stefano Ricci Cortili - Dipartimento Scienze fisiche, della Terra e dell’ambiente, Università di Siena.
Il volto degli antichi: l'importanza della ricostruzione fisiognomica per una divulgazione scientifica corretta.

- Giulia Capecchi - Dipartimento Scienze fisiche, della Terra e dell’ambiente, Università di Siena
La ricostruzione facciale; tecniche di modellazione plastica e restituzione 3D.

- Floriano Cavanna – Presidente Arkè. Archeologia Sperimentale
Dai dati di scavo alla restituzione in plastico: esperienze pratiche.

- Vittorio Fronza - Archeotipo s.r.l.
Dai dati di scavo alla ricostruzione di capanne: il caso dell'Archeodromo di Poggibonsi.

Interverranno alla discussione Franco Cambi, Vasco La Salvia, Pierluigi Giroldini, Enrico Zanini, Roberto Farinelli.
Prevista diretta streaming.

A discussion of the phenomenon of replicating Stonehenge. The paper reviews a variety of sites from around the world, which were built for different reasons. It also discusses smaller scale replicas that are manufactured in large numbers as commercial sale, or hand crafted by individuals as artistic projects. Having established a framework for Stonehenge Replicas the paper then concentrates on a single example, Achill Henge, in Ireland which is examined using a phenomenological approach.

Roundhouse reconstructions are traditionally minimalistic, especially where their construction and furnishing is concerned: they have trampled dirt floors, the huge roof space remains unused, and there are only a few and mostly shabbily constructed furnishings. Even the most basic roundhouses attested in the ethnographic record – often pauper’s dwellings – tend to be at least as, if not much more fancy than that. Comparing the results from our excavations at Meillionydd with evidence recently collected by Harold Mytum during his excavations of ‘his’ roundhouse reconstructions during their rebuilding at Castell Henllys, it is demonstrated that the archaeological record of Iron Age roundhouse differs considerably from that created by these modern ‘minimalistic’ reconstructions. Comfortable Iron Age living in Wales may well have been much more comparable to modern ‘glamping’ (glamorous camping holidays) experiences than to those offered by ‘scientific’ reconstructions.

This paper evaluates shape grammars as a methodology to decode the cultural DNA of a set of fragmentary archaeological artifacts for parallel and precedent analysis and the definition of typologies of artifacts and buildings. Three historical grammars – one symbolic and two shape grammars –and a recent shape grammar of a whole building type are reviewed. The paper draws conclusions on the contribution of shape grammars for archaeological. typologies as well as the challenges and limitations of shape grammars in archaeological research.

This paper presents a shape grammar that formalizes the architectural form of ancient Greek and Roman libraries and encodes it into shape rules for the reconstruction, evaluation and prediction of ancient Greek and Roman libraries.The grammar is briefly presented and the different contributions of the computation to archaeological research are discussed.

This paper evaluates shape grammars as a methodology to decode the cultural DNA of a set of fragmentary archaeological artifacts for parallel and precedent analysis and the definition of typologies of artifacts and buildings. Three historical grammars – one symbolic and two shape grammars –and a recent shape grammar of a whole building type are reviewed. The paper draws conclusions on the contribution of shape grammars for archaeological. typologies as well as the challenges and limitations of shape grammars in archaeological research.

The Si Satchanalai figurines and ceramics applied with figurines in various shapes of humans and animals were one type of ceramics produced especially in the sixteenth century at the Si Satchanalai kilns located in Si Satchanalai city under the territorial control of the Sukhothai and the Ayutthaya Kingdoms which foreigners recorded the name of this region as “Siam.” They represent the mixed culture that came along with the unofficial and official foreign relations on politics and trade. Indian, Khmer, Lanna, Chinese Yuan and Ming, and Vietnamese arts and cultures were transmitted to Siam and became to be the important sources of inspiration for the local potters to create figurines and other forms of ceramic objects. The local daily life diet supplies, relationships in community, social organization, neighborhoods, activities, occupations and environments were other important sources of inspiration for the local potters.

Das Werk einschließlich aller Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlags unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikro verfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Ver arbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Herstellung durch das atelier eilenberger, Taucha bei Leipzig. Printed in Germany. Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. www.frank-timme.de Umschlaggestaltung unter Verwendung einer Fotografie der Teilnehmer am Marsch entlang der Via Claudia Augusta von Mertingen nach Füssen im Herbst 2010 (© Sebastian Bernhard) sowie einer Detailaufnahme des Triumphbogens von Orange mit der Darstellung von Kampfszenen zwischen Römern und Galliern und erbeuteten Waffen (© Christian Koepfer).

The conservation of the early Islamic Bath at Volubilis in the North-West of Morocco led to the discovery of unknown aspects of the hydraulic system of the building in addition to the realisation of the  rst archaeological conservation work in the country which aimed to preserve the ruins and reconstruct the bath structures for future presentation to the public.

The conservation work of the bath represents the earliest known use of traditional and local material and labour in conservation project in the country, as well as its consolidation and preparation for display.

This paper presents a shape grammar that formalizes the architectural form of ancient Greek and Roman libraries and encodes it into shape rules for the reconstruction, evaluation and prediction of ancient Greek and Roman libraries.The grammar is briefly presented and the different contributions of the computation to archaeological research are discussed.

Das Werk einschließlich aller Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlags unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikro verfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Ver arbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Herstellung durch das atelier eilenberger, Taucha bei Leipzig. Printed in Germany. Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. www.frank-timme.de Umschlaggestaltung unter Verwendung einer Fotografie der Teilnehmer am Marsch entlang der Via Claudia Augusta von Mertingen nach Füssen im Herbst 2010 (© Sebastian Bernhard) sowie einer Detailaufnahme des Triumphbogens von Orange mit der Darstellung von Kampfszenen zwischen Römern und Galliern und erbeuteten Waffen (© Christian Koepfer).

The act of reconstructing something from very fragmentary traces requires us to depict unknown knowns, things that we know existed, but of which we have no actual knowledge. We know that a posthole did once contain a post, but whether that post – at least above ground – was round or square, plain or highly decorated, or how high it was, is something we do not know. At best, we can make rough estimates, but usually those have a wide margin of error. In visualising that uncertainty, applying Occam's razor – usually a sound scientific principle – is the worst possible choice: if always using the minimal assumptions necessary to reconstruct houses from posts, the outcome will necessarily be the same minimalistic result. And since a picture says more than a thousand words, we will impress a fundamentally false picture of the past on everyone's mind: on that of the public; but also on our own, who are equally influenced by the illustrations we see in each other's work. Thus, in this paper, I will argue that for making our reconstructions more reliable depictions of the past – not in terms of the details we show on each individual one, but in terms of the overall picture of the past we convey through reconstructions in general – we need to be radically creative. We need to produce, not just the reconstruction of how the object of our attempt most likely looked, but several reconstructions which show the range (the 'standard deviation') of conceivable possibilities of how it might have looked like – even if, for this purpose, we have to make maximal assumptions.

In: R. Karl, J. Leskovar (eds.), Interpretierte Eisenzeiten. Fallstudien, Methoden, Theorie. Tagungsbeiträge der 6. Linzer Gespräche zur interpretativen Eisenzeitarchäologie. Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich, Folge , Linz 2015.

This paper briefly examines the theoretical and methodological relationship between virtuality, archaeology and reconstruction. Virtual reconstruction is defined as a valid tool for gaining cognitive insight into the processes which led to the construction of a prehistoric structure. Due to a great amount of spatial interdependency, the 3-aisled house is a particularly well-suited for this type of cognition-based virtual modelling, leading to the case study of the archaeological site of Slæbæk SØ. House I from Slæbæk SØ is a typical longhouse from the transition between Late Roman Iron Age and Migration Period. The case study deals with some of the basic stages of reconstructing House I and puts forth the preelimanary results of the reconstruction project.

Reconstruction and presentation of Early Medieval material culture from Central Europe
Kora középkori közép-európai anyagi kultúra rekonstrukciója és bemutatása
Rekonštrukcia a prezentácia včasnostredovekej materiálnej kultúry zo strednej Európy

... Sobre reconstrucciones arqueológicas y un mejor acercamiento al público: el caso del yacimiento de Heuneburg (Herbertingen, Alta Suabia, Baden-Württemberg). Autores: Gemma Cardona Gómez; Localización: Her&Mus: heritage & museography, ISSN 2171-3731, Vol. 3, Nº. ...