Architecture and Illustration
The primary task of the Architect is accurately surveying and drawing structural remains as they appear in the excavation to produce a durable three-dimensional record of what has been found. The superimposition of many generations of buildings, ancient to modern in as much as eight meters of archaeological context inevitably requires the dismantling of later structures to reveal earlier ones, consequently the drawn architectural record assumes a unique importance as a record of the evolving human built environment of Athens. A remarkably small group of people have shouldered the responsibility of this task since 1931, the giants among them are John Travlos who worked in six decades, and William Bell Dinsmoor, Jr. who recorded from the mid-sixties until his death in 1988.
The job of the Illustrator ranges from the preparation of accurately-dimensioned records of artifacts to the drawing of reconstructions. While photography produces facsimiles of what is, or may be, visible to the naked eye, drawing is a composite of measured points and marks that permit the reconstruction of profiles and poorly preserved decoration not detectable by a camera.
For further information, please contact Anne Hooton (Illustrator).