ÖZKD LXXVIII 2025 Heft 1, pp. 96-99, 2025/05/08
Monitoring in der Archäologie
For 25 years, the Austrian Federal Monuments Office has documented a rapid deterioration of the marble sur-faces of the Roman stone wall in Seggau Castle. However, ultrasound measurements show that no weakening of the material can be recognized yet in the depths of the marble. The studies were carried out visually (using digital photography, the naked eye, and a magnifying glass) and haptically (using hands, a resonance ball, and tapping). The Austrian Federal Monuments Office urgently recommended conservation measures for a total of 46 visible surfaces, and minimal interventions were needed for 52 surfaces. In June 2016, the Department for Conservation and Restoration of the Austrian Federal Monuments Office began a conservation campaign with trial and sample work. This was followed by additional evaluation and conservation campaigns in 2017 and 2018. The Roman stone artifacts of Seggauberg can be seen as a primary value bearer of antiquity in Styria. The goal is to preserve the surviving object unaltered as much as possible. To that end, the narrative of the Roman wall must stay in sight—in its perception and in its historical source value.