introduction
the profile of the travellers
from a dutch point of view
the power of monuments
idealized landscapes
in search of antiquities
everyday life among ruins
in the service of the divine
athens: a place or an ideal?
ancient vs. contemporary
•
acknowledgements
selected bibliography
catalogue
links and resources travellers
 

everyday life among ruins

In the court of the houses lie many round stelae or pillars once placed on the graves of the (ancient) Athenians
Richard Chandler (1776)

Ruined buildings were not a thing of the past. They were still visible, being part of everyday life of towns and villages, where the old was merging with the new, and ruins of ancient buildings stood among contemporary houses.

The ruins provided the architectural frame for various structures such as houses, fountains and sheepfolds. Locals altered them, relocated them and reused them in appropriate ways to meet their demands.

Architectural remains and sculptures were moved from their original location and incorporated in the walls of contemporary buildings either as building material or as decorative elements in their facades, in the frames of their doors and in courtyards.