For the first time in about 220 years, the west façade of the Parthenon in Greece can be see in its fullest possible form. External scaffolding has now been permanently removed from the monument, marking a key step in its long restoration.
Greece is marking a major milestone with the completion of work to reveal the western pediment of the Parthenon. For the first time in more than two centuries, the country’s most famous monument is now definitively free of its external scaffolding.
The restoration of the orthostates of the tympanum constituted one of the most complex interventions of recent years for the Acropolis Monuments Restoration Service (YSMA).
According to Greece’s culture ministry, the project required highly specialised technical solutions and absolute precision at every stage of the process, from working the new marble to lifting it into place and installing it on the monument.
The large orthostate of the west pediment was restored to its original geometry by bonding the surviving ancient fragments and supplementing them with new marble, while the second was made entirely from new marble. For the final placement of the blocks, a new functional scaffolding system was installed, meeting the strictest modern safety standards and being aesthetically adapted to the monument.
