Post-Earthquake Reconstruction: Mapping and Recording Repairs in Ancient Pompeii

Résumé En

The restoration of a building entails specific techniques and professional skills, revealing the logic and logistics of reconstruction. Focusing on the repairs made following a major earthquake allows us to explore such a building system, which is implemented at times of crisis and emergency. From 2015 to 2019, the research program RECAP (“Reconstruire après un séisme. Expériences antiques et innovations et à Pompéi”; Rebuilding after an earthquake. Ancient experiments and innovations in Pompeii) was carried out to shed new light on the reconstruction conditions in Pompeii and building techniques in the wake of an earthquake. This contribution sets out the methodology of the project, covering three main steps: the definition of an architectural repair; the presentation of the analytic criteria of the repairs through the database OPUR (Outils pour unités de réparation; Tools for repair Units); and mapping post-seismic interventions in Pompeii. Promoting a multidisciplinary approach to built heritage, this method may prove helpful to archaeologists, architects, and engineers for characterizing repairs in areas prone to seismic risk.