The detachment of a reinforced concrete panel in the small atrium of the private baths of the House of Menander (a colonnaded space, formerly closed to the public and visible only from the outside) was reported this morning in the Pompeii excavations. The reinforced concrete panel, on which fragments of the room's original decoration had been collected following excavations in the 30s, and already badly damaged when discovered, collapsed due to partial corrosion of the clamps anchoring it to the wall and cracks caused by oxidation of the internal ironwork. The fragments were recovered for restoration. "This is a typical example of mid-twentieth-century restoration work, which involved the use of materials such as reinforced concrete, which over time proved unsuitable," emphasized Director General Massimo Osanna. "Pompeii is monitoring all such interventions to ensure the most adequate protection of the artifacts."
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