POMPEI DISCOVERS 3D PRINT
WASP’s 3D printers used for the restorative measures
Ten reproduced pieces are going to be sent in Canada
It may be the first time that 3D print has been used so concretely in the restoration of the artistic and cultural heritage. It happens in Pompei, where an important intervention on casts of men, women and children who died two thousand years ago after Vesuvio’s eruption has been made. These bodies were discovered and unearthed in 1863.
The Special Superintendence for Cultural Heritage of Pompei, Ercolano and Scabia asked WASP to collaborate for the restorative intervention. The first step involved the 1:1 reproduction of the casts. There are two Delta WASP 4070 working in Pompei. WASP also supplied some useful materials for the 3D print and technical assistance.
Massimo Osanna, overseer of the project, adfirmed “casts are the most seeked testimonials from abroad”. The problemi s that they’re too fragile for travelling. That explains the need of the perfectly reproduced 3D printed copies. The first prints will be sent in Canada in a few monthes and for sure there will be several requests from all over the world. I twill possibly be an itinerant show.
It is a crucial passage
Pompei is an example of how technology can be usefull for cultural heritage – adfirms Massimo Moretti – Until now WASP didn’t know of how it can give a real contribute in this field. When the supervisors for restoration asked for our help we responded promptly, very proud of being an Italian company which partecipates and contributes to this project thanks to his 3D printers.
In Moretti’s opinion we’re living a crucial passage for 3Dprint: the shift between the rapresentation of projects to their realization. “One of the most interesting areas is that one of restoration, the use of 3D print in cultural heritage” concludes the founder of WASP, the leader Italian company.
The recovery of the bodies
What exactly are Pompei’s casts? The the website www.pompei.net says that during some dig workings the workmen found a cavity in which there were human bones. The archologist Giuseppe Fiorelli ordered that in that hole and in neighboring to be cast plaster. Once the casting was dried, removed the remains of pumice and hardened ash, those cavities revealed the bodies of several Pompei’s citizen that remained buried for millennia. The casts technicque consist of filling with plaster the hole that bodies made. The volcanic material, solidifying, took the shape of what it submerged. These casts, preserved in Pompei’s Antiquarium, are one of the most tragic testimony of the catastrophe which stroke the city. Thanks to Fiorelli’s thecnique we can glimpse the facial expressions, the shapes of the dresses, the positions of the Pompei’s inhabitants when they were submerged by the fury of the volcano. Casts don’t give back just the shape of doors, windows, forniture, but also plants and animals.
