subtitle, "Sites filled with historical vestiges, restoration almost done".
Temples are 'caged' against the ravages of time by scaffolding in the 270-hectare Selinunte archaeological park near Trapani
Posted on 05/10/2015 12:54:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The archaeological park is located at the mouth of a river where wild parsley (selinon) grows, which was the origin of the name of the waterway. The city was founded by Megara Hyblaea residents in Sicily in the seventh century BC near two port-canals, now sanded over, and engaged in intense maritime trade. ''It was due to this expert use of the geographical role of Selinunte,'' historians say, ''that their inhabitants, in the space of just over two centuries, achieved an economic prosperity unrivaled in the Greek world or in that of Sicily/Magna Grecia.'' A city of grandiose size was built with numerous places of worship and public works of high quality. Due to conflict between the Greeks and the Punics in the late fifth century BC, it lost its urban splendor, becoming an important Punic center of trade. Here the Greeks built four parallel temples close to each other in the southern zone for worship and other public activities. ''The position of the acropolis was extremely privileged due to its extension,'' archaeologists say,'' towards the sea, between the western and eastern coves. Its elevation over the sea was balanced and enabled easy monitoring of the two ports to it, linked by short and easy access.'' Selinunte construction materials were excavated from the Cusa caves. They were in use from the sixth century BC until the defeat of the Greeks by the Carthaginians in 409 BC.
(Excerpt) Read more at ansamed.info ...
Temples are 'caged' against the ravages of time by scaffolding in the 270-hectare Selinunte archaeological park near Trapani
(that's the before shot)
Doesn’t do much for the aesthetic appeal.
The Greek building services department hadn’t been in for a while when the restoration got started. ;’)
http://www.planetware.com/i/map/I/selinunte-map.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Selinunte-Akropolis-bjs-2.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Selinunte_Temple_C_aerial_view.jpg
A 2000 year ruin is more appealing than protective scaffolding that achieves nothing natural.
Selinus and the nearby non-Greek (Elymian) city of Segesta were enemies; Segesta persuaded Athens to come to their aid in 415 B.C. by fooling the Athenians into thinking they had a lot more money available than they did--the beginning of the disastrous Sicilian Expedition of 415-413 which was an important contributing factor in the eventual Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War.
Segesta’s ruins look pretty nice as well; as a consequence of that war, the town ran out of cash and its rather ambitious civic construction program stopped dead, leaving it unfinished (if memory serves). Thanks VR!
The scaffolding is there to achieve something artificial, namely, conservation and reconstruction work.
rival city Segesta:
http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/dirbenicult/database/page_musei/pagina_musei.asp?ID=57&IdSito=91
I guess that’s a similar idea to what they did to preserve the Casa Grande in Arizona, where they built a roof over it.
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