The foundations of the Parthenon temple, on Athens Acropolis, were in no danger whatsoever of land subsidence or erosion, deputy culture minister Petros Tatoulis assured on Friday, in reply to press articles.

An announcement was issued by Tatoulis, citing the leading authority on the architecture of the Athenian Acropolis, Manolis Korres -- who has played a major role in the study, conservation and restoration of the archaeological site's monuments -- in recent statements to the Central Archeological Council.

Korres told the Council that the full covering of the temple's floors with temporary flooring has for 23 years fully insulated the foundations, resulting in there being absolutely no hazard at this time.

During older interventions on the Acropolis monuments in the early 1960s, archaeologist Anastasios Orlandos had replaced substantial sections of the Parthenon floors that had been destroyed with new marble, thus waterproofing the foundations, Tatoulis said.

With respect to possible erosion of the Parthenon, Tatoulis said that the issue had been taken up by the Conservation Committee for the Acropolis Monuments in the period 1983-85, ahead of the installation of a crane on the worksite inside the temple. He said a number of tests had been conducted, at large depths, and the conclusion had been that the Parthenon's substructure was compact, with satisfactory tolerance to erosion.

Tatoulis explained that when the interventions on the Parthenon were completed, the temporary working flooring would be removed and the remaining gaps would be filled with new marble, at which time a review would be made to decide whether additional protection measures needed to be taken.

Source: Athens News Agency

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