The Colosseum's Badly Needed Bath

[guy]

The first full cleaning in the Colosseum's history aims to return the Roman monument to its former splendor:

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304518704579521583112244014

 

 

"When you have the chance to put up scaffolding on an ancient monument and look closely while you're cleaning, you discover things you would never otherwise see such as frescoes, stucco work, inscriptions and graffiti," said Clementina Panella, a professor of Roman archaeology at Rome's La Sapienza university.

 

Ms. Rea says she expects major surprises like those to emerge when the scaffolding makes its way to the south and west sides of the Colosseum. That section lacks an extra row of outer arcades, which began to be dismantled in the sixth century to provide material for new structures. The outer arcades block close-up looks at the inner structure. In January last year, a small-scale cleaning not connected to the current project revealed frescoes, graffiti and drawings on an internal passageway. The project could also afford the first look at how the Romans built key sections of the world-famous monument.

 

guy also known as gaius

Edited April 26, 2014 by guy

[Viggen]

cool news, thanks for the info!

[dale]

Thanks for this info'.