Der Parthenon in Basel

New life for old Elgin Marbles?

One of the greatest artworks of all time is scattered in fragments across Europe. But there is now a way to view the surviving Parthenon sculptures together for the first time – a virtual reconstruction.

They’re still magnificent nearly 2,500 years after being carved, but the sculptures of the Parthenon are a bit like sad ghosts – pale, battered, half-lost and spread far and wide. The fragments are strewn across 10 museums in eight countries. The Greeks are keen to reunite these in a purpose-built museum within sight of the ruined temple the frieze once adorned.

But the British Museum, the guardian of the Elgin Marbles – which were cut from the Parthenon 200 years ago – is reluctant to let its prized possession go. Its argument goes that half the Parthenon sculptures are lost forever, and the rest are so scattered and damaged that it is no longer possible to recreate them in any real sense. A better solution is a computer reconstruction, which will give a more complete sense of how the whole might once have looked.

The University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies is at work on just such as project. It has produced 152 high-resolution models of the sculptures, and produced images which show each in its original position. And work has begun on a separate scheme to laser scan each piece of the scattered stones at the National Museums Liverpool’s conservation centre. Sculpture department head John Larson hopes to use the scans to produce marble copies. All museums with parts of the sculptures have agreed to collaborate on the project, although it is not yet clear whether the Greek Ministry of Culture will take part. The work holds out the possibility of combining data from the surviving pieces, casts of fragments which have been destroyed, and expert reconstructions of those portions which have vanished.

There are hopes that one day all 524ft (160m) of the frieze, showing in life-like detail the men, women, horses and sacrificial animals which took part in the annual Panathenaic procession, may be depicted in images or 3-D replicas. The pediments and metopes (vignettes in stone of mythological battles), may also be reproduced - and in colour, for it is thought that the Greeks made vibrant use of paint in their artworks. Also able to be added in virtual reality are the metal attachments – harnesses, weapons, staffs and wreaths – which once adorned the originals. Viewing the sculptures is like finding the photo album of a long-lost people who still influence our art, literature and democracy. But where best to see a reconstruction of this treasure of the ancient world? No decisions have been made yet on whether copies – either virtual or replicas – will be available at the British Museum, although this could be a contingency plan should the Greeks’ calls for return of the stones prove successful.

A new campaign to return to the Elgin Marbles to Athens has been launched. The Greeks have offered to accept the London sculptures as a loan – which would sidestep the issue of ownership – but the British Museum is reluctant to give up the stones. Museum director Neil MacGregor says there is no need to discuss what to do if the Elgin Marbles go back to Greece – because they’re not going: «The British Museum is the best possible place for the Parthenon sculptures in its collections to be on display.» Wherever the stones end up, modern technology has played its part in reviving ancient genius. The sculptures have inspired lovers of art and civilisation for centuries. Now, a whole new phase in their influence could be about to begin.

How the Parthenon marbles are being reborn

The task of breathing life back in to the 2,500-year-old Parthenon sculptures started in Basel, Switzerland, at the city’s Skulpturhalle museum. This museum features a collection of high quality plaster casts of nearly every known existing piece of Parthenon sculpture.

A team of four from the University of Southern California’s Institute of Creative Technologies (ICT) spent five days in the museum scanning the collection of casts. Modern 3-D reconstruction techniques involve projecting light on an object from different angles to make digital camera images. Computers then analyse the images to map the surface of the object. The ICT team made 2,200 scans, recording 160 metres of frieze, 52 metopes – the battle scenes that once formed the outer frieze – and parts of the pediment statues, which adorned the triangular spaces at either end of the temple.cThe 80 gigabytes of data they returned with were assembled into 152 high-resolution models, which have been combined with digital models of the Parthenon itself to show how they would look in place.

But the job doesn’t finish there. The team is now working on bridging the gap between the surface of the plaster cast the reflective qualities of the sculptures’ original marble surface. This involves combining data taken from the casts in Basel with information on surface colours and reflectivity from digital photographs of the original sculptures which are now held in the British Museum. Restoration of the Parthenon building itself is helping in this area, says Dr Paul Debevec, of the ITC. It has revealed the qualities of newly quarried Pentelic marble, which was used in the original construction. The ITC team hopes its work can incorporate reproductions of missing parts and bronze additions, as well as restore the «lively and exuberant original colour scheme». Contrary to popular belief the original sculptures were painted, although there’s uncertainty about the exact colourings. Computer technology cannot improve on the best efforts of archaeologists and historians to say what the original looked like, he says. But it can show alternative theories side by side, and aid discussions. Did the metopes have a red or blue background, for instance?

Taken from the official BBC World News website.