recensione a F. ATHANASIOU, V. MALAMA, M. MIZA, M. SARANTIDOU, The Restoration of the ruins of the Galerian Complex in Thessaloniki (1994–2014). Documentation and interventions

This two-volume publication by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki City deals with the restoration of the buildings belonging to the imperial complex of Galerius, which are preserved in ruins in Navarinou Square and on Dimitriou Gounari Street in the city’s historic center. It presents the results of scientific research carried out over the past twenty years (1994-2014) within the context of preparing the studies for the restoration and conservation of the monument’s remains and decoration. The research goal, which resulted from interdisciplinary collaboration, was the study of the architectural form of the buildings and alterations they underwent in the course of their long history, together with a detailed record and analysis of building techniques employed in the construction of this extremely important Late Antique building ensemble in the early 4th century, i.e. at the cusp of the pagan and Christian worlds. This scientific research was necessary for the documentation and non-empirical restoration of the monuments, keeping in mind the reciprocal relationship between the study of building remains and the materials and the interventions chosen to preserve them, which can often alter their authenticity irreversibly, destroying unique and unparalleled testimony to a historical period of antiquity. The publication of these studies following the completion of restoration and conservation was deemed necessary and essential, on the one hand so that the necessary research and documentation would be at the disposal of scholars of the Galerian Complex, and on the other so that specialists can assess the various solutions chosen to protect, consolidate, conserve, and enhance these buildings. The first volume includes the documentation for buildings excavated before the work of restoration began. The presentation of monuments, in addition to the texts, is done through photographs and selected drawings for each monument, due to the fact that it was not possible to publish all the existing material in this edition. The second volume presents the studies for the restoration and conservation of the buildings and their decoration. They include the methodology, principles followed during the restoration of the walls and ancient floors, the study of ancient building materials and drawings and post-intervention photographs of the antiquities.