The marble components of the Temple of Hercules have endured considerable deterioration over the two millennia the structure has stood in the Forum Boarium. The columns titled at a severe angle, and there was a substantial loss of material around the joints of the marble blocks that compose each column, especially along the marble’s natural veins. (...)
The marble components of the Temple of Hercules have endured considerable deterioration over the two millennia the structure has stood in the Forum Boarium. The columns titled at a severe angle, and there was a substantial loss of material around the joints of the marble blocks that compose each column, especially along the marble’s natural veins. This greatly increased the risk of their movement or collapse. The tuff blocks of the podium, upon which the temple’s fragile columns rest, had undergone advanced erosion as well. On the interior, the surfaces of the medieval frescoes had gone untreated for a considerable period of time and had experienced notable deterioration. In 1996, the Temple of Hercules was placed on the World Monuments Watch. Conservation work focused on securing the stability of the fragile structure, conserving the eroding marble surfaces and rare Christian frescoes it housed, and surveying the impact of local geological stability and modern development to detect and preempt future threats to the site. To eliminate the structural risk afflicting the building, stainless steel and titanium elements were employed to anchor the new roof to the column capitals without endangering the original architecture. The tuff podium and pavement, which were exposed by previous excavations, were first conserved to their original heights with new stonework and then partially reburied to safeguard their stability. Within the temple’s interior, all marble and plaster sections of the walls were cleaned, consolidated, and repaired and the 15th-century fresco resting above the altar was treated and consolidated.
