Conservation vs. Restoration

 

Tod's celebrates renovation of Rome's Colosseum | Wallpaper*
Restoration project Rome's Colosseum 




    What precautions are being taken when either trying to conserve or restore an archaeological site? What is the difference between conservation and restoration? In order for us to conserve an artifact of any sort it must be handled with expertise and care so there is no loss of important historic data. Mistreatment of any artifact would ultimately result in loss of history and no one wants that! Conserving may consist of cleaning, documentation, analysis, and or making sure the artifact is stable in the state it is discovered. Restoration on the other hand deals with fixing damaged parts or replacing of parts that might have gone missing or that have deteriorated over time. Recognizing the importance of preserving these artifacts whether it be through conservation or restoration or even both, can make studying said artifacts much easier. A good example of a restoration project is the Colosseum in Rome. Measuring around 620 by 513 feet this building has slowly broken down over time and this is why a lot of effort is going into it to preserve it. Weathering, natural disasters, vandalism, etc. are all that has happened over the years causing the Colosseum to lose its stability, during the 1990s is when actions were being taken to actually preserve and restore this monument that so many tourists enjoy. 





https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/colosseum

https://nautarch.tamu.edu/CRL/conservationmanual/File1.htm#contentarea

         
  

Comments

  1. M. RobersonSeptember 8, 2020 at 9:27 AM

    Hey Emily, when thinking of conservation vs restoration, I didn't think about how restoration like you said can potentially result in a loss of history if mistreated. And with the Colosseum losing its foundation from weathering and other natural causes, is that something they would try to restore or not?

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  2. Jeremy VelascoSeptember 9, 2020 at 12:41 PM

    This is a really nice point you make about the results of restoration sometimes being negative. When I hear conservation, I think of trying to preserve something the way that it was originally. Restoration to me is trying to return something to its original form. So do you think that restoration is necessary to achieve conservation?

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