The Conservation of Archaeological Sites in the Mediterranean Region: An International Conference Organized by the Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum, May 1995

Edited by Marta de la Torre

One of the greatest challenges faced today by those responsible for ancient cultural sites is maintaining the delicate balance between conserving these fragile resources and making them available to increasing numbers of visitors. The demands of tourism, unchecked development, and changing environmental conditions threaten significant historical sites throughout the world.

These are among the topics discussed in this book, which reports on the proceedings of an international conference on the conservation of classical sites in the Mediterranean region organized by the Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum. The book includes chapters presenting management issues at three sites Piazza Armerina in Sicily, Knossos on Crete, and Ephesus in Turkey which conference participants visited in order to examine how issues raised at these locales can illuminate the challenges of management and conservation faced by complex heritage sites the world over. Additional chapters discuss such topics as the management of cultural sites, the reconstruction of ancient buildings, and ways of presenting and interpreting sites for today's visitors.

Marta de la Torre is former director of the Training Program at the Getty Conservation Institute.

"The essays are a model for archaeological site assessment."
—Conservation Bulletin

"A valuable array of concrete, workable ideas about the preservation and the presentation/interpretation of heritage sites."
—Bryn Mawr Classical Review