Some parts of the restoration works on the Acropolis will be completed in the coming months, allowing visitors their first sight of parts of the building for some years without scaffolding in the foreground. As part of the project, a virtual reality presentation on the history of the restoration work is planned for the New Acropolis Museum, so that visitors can get a better understanding of what is one of the most complex projects of its kind ever undertaken.

From:
Athens News Agency

10/31/2008
Acropolis restoration works

Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis on Thursday inspected works for the restoration of the Athens Acropolis, after which he praised the effort underway.

“The work to preserve and highlight the monuments provides a unique experience for visitors to the Sacred Rock, since a more comprehensive image of the Acropolis is formed that allows the monuments to be better recognised and understood,” he said.
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More information on the casts of the Parthenon sculptures in Edinburgh that are soon to be restored.

From:
The Scotsman

Wednesday, 17th September 2008
College carves out art grant for its forgotten sculptures
Published Date: 17 September 2008
By CATHERINE SALMOND

THEY may have been based on some of the world’s most famous and bitterly contested works of art, but until recently they were gathering dust in a city cupboard.

Now a collection of sculptures, which are one-off copies of the Elgin marbles, are to take pride of place at the Edinburgh College of Art – thanks to a £500,000 makeover.
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Numerous sets of casts have been made of the Parthenon Frieze. Complete sets of casts are currently the only way to see the frieze in its entirety, as the majority of it is currently split between Athens & the British Museum.

From:
Scotsman

Monday, 15th September 2008
‘Worthless’ casts to receive £½m revamp

A COLLECTION of 200-year-old plaster casts, once considered near-worthless copies of great Greek and Roman statues and carvings, have earned a £494,000 lottery grant.
The cash will enable the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) to conserve and restore them.

The casts have been used since the early 19th century as a teaching tool for students to practise drawing and painting. But they fell out of fashion with the advent of modern art programmes and were seen as having little intrinsic value.
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Following successful progress of the current restoration programme on the Athenian acropolis, the decision has been made to undertake an additional phase of restoration work on the west facade of the building.

From:
Agence France Presse

Acropolis to undergo restoration from 2009
20 hours ago

ATHENS (AFP) — The world-famous Parthenon of the Athens Acropolis will undergo restoration work from 2009 that will see its western facade obscured by scaffolding for three years, officials said.

The work will mainly be focused on repairing damage caused by the Greek uprising against Ottoman rule in 1821, when the facade was damaged by around 700 bullet holes, architect Manolis Korres said.
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As scientists discover more about the microscopic organisms that live on the surface of many ancient monuments, it is becoming apparent that in some cases they can be causing significant amounts of damage that was previously unrecognised. Various possible solutions are being tested, to try & halt the damage that is being caused to the monuments of the Acropolis in Athens.

From:
New York Times

Microbes Eating Away at Pieces of History
By BINA VENKATARAMAN
Published: June 24, 2008

At Angkor Wat, the dancers’ feet are crumbling.

The palatial 12th-century Hindu temple, shrouded in the jungles of Cambodia, has played host to a thriving community of cyanobacteria ever since unsightly lichens were cleaned off its walls nearly 20 years ago. The microbes have not been good guests.
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