The restoration of the Propylaia which forms the gateway to the Acropolis has now been completed, ending another chapter in the Acropolis’s extensive restoration programme.

From:
Athens News Agency

12/22/2009
Restoration of Acropolis Propylaea completed

All scaffolding and cranes were fully removed from the Propylaea of the Acropolis, the monumental entrance, or gateway, to the Acropolis, on the weekend following completion of the restoration work on the central building of the structure.

The Propylaea was built under the direction of Athenian leader Pericles, but the building itself was designed by the architect Mnesicles, while construction began in 437 BCE and was terminated in 432 BCE, while the building was still unfinished.

The Propylaea is constructed of white Pentelic marble and gray Eleusian marble or limestone, used for accentuation.

The structure comprises a central building and two adjoining wings on the west, or outer, side and on the south side.

The core of the structure is the central building built with a standard six-column Doric facade on the west of the entrance to the Acropolis, and reflects the proportions, although not the size, of the columns of the Parthenon.

The central building contains the gate wall, about two-thirds of the way through it, while there are five gates in the wall: one for the central passageway, which was not paved and lay along the natural level of the ground, and two on either side at the level of the building’s eastern porch, five steps up from the level of the western porch. The central passageway was the culmination of the Sacred Way, which led to the Acropolis from Eleusis.

From:
Associated Press

Greeks finish Propylaea restoration on Acropolis
(AP) – 22 hours ago

ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities say a major restoration program has been successfully completed on the 2,500-year-old monumental gateway of the Acropolis.

The culture ministry says the 7-year project has lengthened the roof on the ancient marble building, known as the Propylaea.

The ministry also said Monday 255 blocks of marble were taken down from the monument so experts could remove rusting metal clamps used by previous restorers, which had caused extensive cracking.

The Propylaea is the only Acropolis monument to retain large sections of its ancient roofing.

The hilltop temples are undergoing extensive restoration, expected to continue beyond 2020.

From:
ABC News (Australia)

Acropolis gateway restoration completed

Posted Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:48am AEDT

Workers have removed scaffolding from the monumental gateway at the entrance to the Athens Acropolis after completing a nine-year restoration project, the Greek culture ministry said.

The 6.5 billion euro ($10.5 billion) project aimed to remove metal pins, used in the early 19th century restoration of the Propylaea gates, which were oxidising the marble structure, the ministry said.

During the work, 600 tonnes of blocks were dismantled and reassembled and part of an ancient roof was rebuilt using marble beams.

Restoration teams also installed Ionic capitals – copies of ancient originals – on top of two columns that visitors pass as they enter the site.

Greece launched a huge restoration and conservation scheme for the Acropolis in 1975, and two other projects are nearing completion.

Work to restore the north colonnade of the Parthenon is due to be finished early next year, while the rebuilding of the temple of Athena Nike is scheduled for completion by the summer, restoration service director Maria Ioannidou said.

The buildings which dominate the Acropolis – including the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaea and the temple of Athena Nike – were built in the fifth century BC, during the golden age of Athenian democracy.

– AFP