The Information and Education Department of the Acropolis Restoration Service on the occasion of this year’s European Cultural Heritage Days (23-25.9.2022) with the theme: “Sustainable Cultural Heritage – Preserving Europe’s cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations”, organized the educational program: “Short stories of restoration” occasioned by the film with the same name. The program was carried out on Friday 23.9.2022 at the archaeological site of the Acropolis and was addressed to 35 students of the 6th grade from the 70th Primary School of Athens.
In particular, this year’s theme concerned the protection of cultural heritage (tangible and intangible) and the techniques and materials used for the restoration of the monuments in the past and the present. The students were informed about the causes of damage, the past restoration techniques and the different principles and methods of the modern restoration program carried out by YSMA currently on the monuments of the Acropolis. Then the students visited the Acropolis monuments and had the chance to observe both the monuments that have already been restored and the ones that are currently under restoration work. The program was completed with a stonemasonry workshop where an experienced mason from the YSMA staff introduced students to the marble carving tools and showed them the traces each one leaves on the marble surface. The students were mostly excited when they tried to carve a piece of marble by themselves and realized the difficulty, the attention and persistence that such a task requires.