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.