On 2 May 2006, a group of ICCROM staff visited the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP).

The HCP is an ongoing conservation project. The partners are the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompeii (SAP), the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) and the British School at Rome. The overall aim of the project is to develop a long-term conservation strategy for the site that will ensure the preservation of this unique site.

The initial phase of the project has focused on the development of a pilot project in one corner of the city, the Insula Orientalis I, used as a case study to understand the complex conservation problems at Herculaneum.

The team is composed of an interdisciplinary group of consultants, including archaeologists, architects, conservators and engineers, and is supported by a Scientific Committee, of which ICCROM is a member.

During the visit, the group was received by Jane Thompson (HCP Project Manager), Sarah Court (HCP Scientific Coordinator), Domico Camardo (Archaeological research and cataloguing), Paola Pesaresi (conservation of structures), Monica Martelli Castaldi (conservation of decorative surfaces), Massimo Brizzi (measured studies and database for conservation), Ippolito Massari (study of conservation problems related with humidity and water).

Previous cooperation with the HCP has included special visits organized for the participants of ICCROM courses, including the course on Sharing Conservation Decisions, and the ARIS course.

Further information on the HCP project may be found at: www.herculaneum.org

updated on: 13 April, 2010