068 foti: crypti balbi

Below are several photos from Crypti Balbi that go with the text from yesterday.



This is a cross-section of the Crypti Balbi site, photographed from a display in the museum. On the left you can see the ghost of the imperial structure, and the ghost of the medieval structure above. Underground you can see ghosts from different time periods going about their business. And speaking of ghosts, I just realized that my reflection is faintly visible in the image. Eerie.



Above is an example of the quantity of architectural artifacts. These are just the "leftover" pieces jumbled together in a display case, although in the US each one could probably be its own museum.



This is a diagram of the main wall in the museum, color coded to all the different time periods. The colored lines you see represent structural interventions, most unsuccessful in that they actually hindered the historic material. (We still have a lot to learn.)



And a photo of the crypt itself, showing the way you can wind through all these layers of history on a low-slope ramp.