Restoring the Ruin
Acquiring new marble
To replace original pieces that are
missing, because they either have been looted and are now in museums around the
world or have altogether disappeared, the team has turned to the very quarry
the ancient Athenians used. Just 12 miles from the Acropolis, the quarry is
known as Pentelicon. Scholars estimate that in the time of Pericles, the
Athenian leader who spearheaded the Parthenon's construction, workers cut
100,000 tons of marble from Pentelicon. The quarry remains a rich source of
marble even today.