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.