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FAMSI © 2005: Carlos Rudy Larios Villalta |
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Architectural Restoration Criteria in the Maya Area Drainage of Rain Water, the Number One Enemy: The Case of Copán’s Archaeological Cut We are fully aware of the danger water involves for the conservation of ancient buildings, not only as a dissolution and transformation agent of some component minerals of the construction stones, but also, and to a higher degree, as an agent of erosion and collapse. We have said elsewhere that when rain water penetrates into the fills and constructive masses, agglutinant materials, particularly clays, increase their volume and consequently cause a lateral pressure that pushes, deforms and may even cause portions of the structure to collapse.
The Copán Acropolis Archaeological Cut (Photo 58, above) is a typical case. Water from the river has undermined the foundations of this huge construction, and in just a few centuries has caused a cut of over two hundred meters in length, and approximately thirty meters in height. The river, being the cause of destruction, had its river-bed diverted in 1945 by the Carnegie Institution’s project, in an attempt to stop for good the process of destruction. In spite of this, the collapsing process continued (Photo 59) uninterrupted, threatening to completely destroy the acropolis. All those who knew about this problem became increasingly concerned, and several proposals were presented, aimed at stabilizing the cut. Some proposed to build gabion walls, others, masonry walls to brace the cut, etc. The proposal I elaborated during my earlier years in Copán consisted of stabilizing the cut in the same way we would do with a small structure, that is, to restore it allowing that all structural features remained visible for an adequate interpretation. The plan was submitted in 1985 to Lic. Ricardo Agurcia F., who was the manager, back then, of the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia; ever since, the cut’s restoration became a dream with little possibilities of coming true, because as we anticipated, the agency lacked the necessary financial resources. After a few years of expectancy, however, work was completed, first with the support of the Ministry of Public Works, and then of the Fondo de Inversión Social (FIS) Social Investment Fund through the Copán Association, between 1988 and 1993. In this case, it is important to explain that the project foundations rested on the fact that if we were able to restore formal architecture, we could also be able to restore or stabilize the cut. Basically, we would attempt to preserve all existing architectural features, by stabilizing them and defining the different building strata (Photo 60). In broken parts with no architecture, work would consist in returning a portion of the lost or weakened volume, with liners similar to retaining walls, to rebuild the cut (Photo 61). In addition, and in the clear understanding of the potential danger of water filtrations, our project included the stabilization of the eastern patio and the stairs found at the edge of the cut (Photo 62, below).
The river-bed, cancelled in 1945, was still there and carried water during the rainy seasons. The first probes at the foot of the cut revealed that the entire acropolis was resting on the water table, so the first proposal consisted of an earthen and stone talus that would act as a bracing at the base of the cut. The talus finally covered approximately five meters in height from the base, and was extended with a slight incline to the bank of the Copán River (Photo 63, below).
The final result was good, and we succeeded in stabilizing an extension almost two hundred meters long, with a height that varied from twenty to twenty five meters, plus the stairs of the east border of the eastern patio, at the edge of the cut. Photos (Photo 64 & 65, shown below, and Photo 66) show this process and a portion of the completed works. Needless to say, those works were but the first step in the conservation process; a permanent maintenance is required, to keep the surface of the restored portion in such condition that rain waters are quickly evacuated before they have the chance to filtrate. Otherwise, the destruction process will start all over again.
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