Reconstructing Spatial Narratives 01
With reference to the practice of theatre/archaeology as a deep map, based on the concept that archaeology is “not just excavation (analysis). It must, in some way, synthesize (reconstruct, represent and simulate) the past.” (Pearson and Shanks, 1994. p.134). In an attempt to explore the Historic appearance of the ABH spatially and 'reconstruct' represent an simulate the past as proposed by Pearson and Shanks (1994) a 1:20 diorama of this space is produced, this diorama provides a scaled representation of the place, the critical dimension of which are based on terrestrial laser scan data captured at the site in Jan 2015.
Diorama Research and Archaeology
The act of producing an accurate scaled representation of the ABH requires a level of in-depth research on the objects occupying the space In the above photograph, particularly, I refer to 3 marble figures adorning brick alcoves (on the right of the image) and two male, marble figures mounted on plinths at the far end of the Hall as indicated in the above photograph. To reproduce scaled versions of these sculptures first requires identification, allowing further study of their form and scale.
According to Newcastle City Council's 'Conservation Statement' for the ABH, the marbles once situated in the Hall, depicted in the above photograph, are the work of sculpture John Graham Lough; (Short backround). The sculptures no longer reside in the ABH and there are reports that they were auctioned by local auctioneers, Anderson and Garland in 1972 along with the remaining banqueting tables. In order to successfully reconstruct the volume in diorama form, the identity of the depicted sculptures had to be discovered. It is suggested that the figures are copies of the Elgin Marbles Frieze, removed from the Greek Parthenon at the Acropolis and currently residing at the British Museum in London (Newcastle City Council 2012) *footnote about the parthenon and elgin marbles. This provided a starting point for the identification process; understanding that the figures are likely copies of ancient greek sculptures a general internet search was carried out, using the physical characteristics of the sculptures as initial search terms.