Use of geotechnologies in the reproduction and recovery of heritage, ethical reflection and case study

Abstract

All of us, as well as the objects that surrounds us, are in a permanent process of degradation for the simple reason that we are positioned on the surface of the Earth and interact with the atmosphere that surrounds us. The degradation of all things is an evolutionary process and inevitably leads to non-existence, within a more or less short time limit - at some point in the future, there will in fact be no pyramids in Egypt, no Mona Lisa in the Louvre, no Big Ben in London, at that point, it might consider prudent to have made at least a few copies; or not. We can also consider the hypothesis that, at that point, we have stopped giving importance to the past, only thinking about the immediate future. In this article we intend to present an ethical reflection on the crossroads at which we find ourselves and an example of a restoration that uses technology to “create new ancient art today”, but which maintains it our current reality, heritage that had already been lost (in terms of its physical integrity) to the restoration through traditional methods. As a final result of the work of all the experts involved, a CNC-machined stone reproduction was reinstalled in situ to replace the unrecoverable one that was originally situated within a symmetrical sculptural setting. The particularities of the equipment used that allowed this restoration challenge to be resolved are mentioned, as well as the ethical concerns that arose throughout the entire process.