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One century of conservation in Greece and Crete (19thC-1970 period of the democratic transition in Greece) focusing on the conservation of the architectural remains at Knossos and on the conservation of the archaeological collections in Crete

Deli Maria

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Summary

The conservation of the cultural heritage is a multidimensional scientific field which is constantly evolving through scientific methodologies based on scientific research. Any professional who is nowadays active in the sector of the management of monuments, is familiar with the modern principles of conservation science and its practices.Heritage conservation is a relatively new applied science. It emerged in late 19th century Europe with the aim to prolong the life of the monuments. Of course this was not obvious from the very beginning. Monumental conservation is a product of social fermentation and it has borrowed elements from other scientific fields. Its successful application requires a proficiency in specialized scientific fields, an aesthetic insight and manual skills of high standards on behalf of the conservator.In Greece monumental conservation as an applied science and as a practice in the field, emerges simultaneously to archaeological science, as soon as the Modern Greek state is formed and its course is closely associated with the course of the people who applied it. Conservation in Greece has evolved differently rather than in Europe and its historic course has not been recorded, neither has that of the people who participated in it, until today.Being an active conservator in modern Greece, one immediately realizes the lack of the narrative of the historic route of scientific conservation. The absence of historic awareness of the professional field one follows, may contribute to the rising of a sense of absence of professional identity. Particularly in the professional field of conservation such thing may occur very easily due to its complex nature.The non-recording of the facts of conservation in Greece has also had an impact on a practical level. Effective conservation planning for a monument presupposes to a large extent, knowledge of the previous interventions that it has undergone, particularly when these have affected its pathology. Therefore awareness of a monument’s past may contribute to the organization of a strategic plan for its conservation and constitute part of the current scientific research in the field of conservation.The current research constitutes the first systematic recording of the history of Greek conservation in Greek literature. It aims at contributing to answering practical questions that arise in situ on a daily basis and concern conservation materials and techniques of the past and also to explain previous conservation ethics. Finally it aims at contributing to the comprehension of conservation’s nature as a scientific field and the professional status of the Greek conservators.

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