Ricerc@Sapienza

Ancient bronze statues mainly require material integrity assessment and restoration.
Restoration may include also the update of the museum exhibition, defining new structural
frames and fragment re-composition to preserve the statue and improve the interpretation of the
original aspect. This paper proves how engineering methods (such as Finite Element Analysis,
Computer Aided Design modelling, Reverse Engineering) may assist cultural heritage experts
and restorers in these tasks. It presents the activities made together with the Museo Nazionale

Interventions of ancient bronze statues restoration may last long periods, involving several activities from material and structural analysis to set-up of museum exhibitions, passing through reconstruction of fragments. In this paper, we describe procedures and methods used for evaluation of the current posture of “Principe Ellenistico”. In fact, the statue seems to present some inaccuracies, in the fragments assembly, made during the last restoration activity (one of this effect is clearly observed in the spear inclination).

Chronicles of sieges to castles or fortresses, using “machinae”, can often be found in historical sources. Moreover, archaeological excavations of castles or fortresses has brought to light rocks or projectiles whose carving suggests a military usage. Nevertheless, chronicles and discoveries alone, are seldom enough to propose a faithful reconstruction of these machines. Therefore, the aim of this research is the development of methodologies for reconstructing virtual scenarios of sieges, starting from the scarce information available.