THE CONSERVATIONOF THE NEPTUNE AND AMPHITRITE WALL

MOSAIC ATHERCULANEUM: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PARTNERSHIP

Alessandra De Vita , Silvia Simeti , Stefano Volta1 2 2

1 HCPcoordinatorofconservationresearchprogramme(a.devita@herculaneum.org)

2 HCPconservator-restorers(archerestauri@libero.it)

ABSTRACT

The interdisciplinary team of the Herculaneum Conservation Project (‘HCP’, a Packard Humanities Institute

initiative in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei and

the British School at Rome) started addressing the issues raised by the conservation of decorative features in

the summer triclinium of the House of Neptune and Amphitrite some five years ago. Numerous initiatives

have been carried out, often in conjunction with its network of national and international research partners.

Some have been at larger scale, some specific to this decorative feature. Harnessing these diverse

contributions has been central to the progress made in 2012 to conserve a specific feature of the room, the

severely decayed Neptune and Amphitrite wall mosaic made of polychrome tesserae (vitreous paste,

limestone, volcanic stone and Egyptian blue). A number of decay phenomena were affecting the mosaic.

Meticulous conservation work has been carried out consolidating mortars and tesserae, carefully cleaning the

surfaces, removing inappropriate fillings, reapplying interstitial mortar, etc. Further interventions are planned

for other wall mosaics and paintings in the triclinium, as are monitoring and maintenance programmes to

guaranteetheconditionofthedecorativefeatures.

Key-words: Herculaneum,archaeology,wallmosaic,conservation.