Repaired and redesigned. A Study of life cycles of ancient building parts on the example of architectural terracottas from Pompeii

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Julian Bauch
• Subject Area: Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 508247139

The term „life cycle“ in relation to building components refers to the entire lifespan from planning an manufacturing (design an production) through construction (including distribution and displacement) to maintenance (repair and redesign), and reuse. With the methods of historical building research (Bauforschung) it is possible to detect traces on building components from archeological find contexts that provide information on these processes and enable an analysis of the life cycles of individual groups of building components. By interpreting these indications, specific insights into the organization and functioning of ancient building emerge.The proposed project focuses on the clay elements of Pompeii’s architecture. The Pompeian deposits contain an important collection of various terracotta building components such as roof tiles (tegulae and imbrices), roof edges (simas), front tiles (antefixes), and cladding panels (Campana reliefs). These pieces, often richly decorated with elaborate relief and generally subsumed under the term architectural terracottas, are an integral part of the decoration of Italic-Roman architecture. The goal of the proposed project is to identify historical concepts associated with the manufacture, repair, maintenance, and disposal of this specific group of building components using the approaches of the so-called life cycle assessement (LCA). The intention is to identify different strategies regarding the organization and functioning of Pompeian building sites and thus to contribute to a deeper understanding of a specific part of the ancient building economy.During the project, the important collection of Pompeii’s architectural terracottas will be comprehensively and systematically examined for the first time for traces of production, repair, redesign, and reuse. The project will be based at the Division of Building Archaeology (Architekturreferat) of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), where the director has established a focus in the field of “(re)construction research” (“Umbauforschung”) for the ancient world. The project is integrated into the DAI’s Digital Roofs project and can use the existing technical equipment and the tested work flows.Permission for the project has been granted by the Director General of the Parco Archeologico di Pompei.The results and data of the project will be published as an enhanced open access publication in peer review via the publication organs of the German Archaeological Institute and will serve to further qualification of the applicant in the field of building research (Bauforschung).

• DFG Programme: WBP Position