National Geographic Features The “Facelift” Of the Caryatids At The Acropolis Museum

Caryatids. Photo: elladatora.org

The “new look” of ancient Greece’s four marble maidens – the Caryatids – was recently featured by National Geographic.

Laser conservation of the Caryatids at the Acropolis Museum

A. R. Williams refers to the innovative laser technique conservators have labored since 2011 to strip away the decades of grime from the iconic marble statues.

The final figure that underwent the treatment was recently revealed in all her splendor at the new Acropolis Museum in Athens.

The statues were sculpted in the late fifth century B.C. and originally held the roof of the Erechtheion’s south porch on their heads. The Erechtheion is one of the temples that stood on the Acropolis.

The Acropolis Museum was awarded for this innovative program by the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) in Vienna, with the Keck Award 2012.

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