Acts of vandalism threatening research projects?
Vandalism is, by definition, “the deliberate destruction of someone else’s property, especially public property, without a clear reason”. Unfortunately, this is the situation we faced during the realisation of the “Development of three-dimensional documentation of the collection” task began.
During the planning stage of the research projects we want to carry out at the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace in Wilanów, we considered many factors including the possible impact of atmospheric conditions, fluctuating costs of services, as well as the impact of a given project on other areas of the museum’s activity. Unexpectedly, we must also include acts of vandalism in this catalogue of factors. How did they come about?
One of the elements of the work carried out by the Warsaw University of Technology is the documentation and analysis of the ageing changes occurring on the palace façades, by carrying out seven series of three-dimensional measurements over thirty months. Each of them consists of measuring the same twelve fragments of the façade, measuring 12 x 12 cm. The use of three-dimensional scanning with structural lighting enables the development of highly precise documentation, thanks to which each square millimetre of the surface is described by 2,500 measurement points. This makes it possible to observe changes to the shape of a given fragment of the palace façade at the level of 1/25 mm. However, there is a problem – despite such accurate measurement data, we still have to be able to match measurements taken in the same place over nearly three years in seven consecutive series of measurements. We do not know which part of the observed façade will change over this time and what the character of the changes will be. The surface may be washed away, and growths due to the crystallisation of water-soluble salts may occur. In this situation, scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology searched for a marking system that does not undergo significant changes over several years and allows for precise matching of measurements.
Specially designed discs turned out to be the solution. In order to position one fragment of the façade to be measured, we need at least three discs. In each of the twelve fields, we installed four such markers, taking in account that as a result of external factors, one of them may be damaged. The markers are made of aluminium (to reduce the effect of corrosion) and are covered with a grey matte safety coating. Each disc is fitted with an approx. 3 cm long pin, which is glued into an opening in the façade with a durable resin. After installation, the disc with a diameter of 2 cm protrudes only 9 mm from the façade of the palace. Although we predicted that special plastic caps to protect the disc between measurements may be lost, we did not think that someone could rip out an entire marker attached with resin from the wall! What is more – in one of the measuring points, an unknown perpetrator broke off three of the four markers, identifying one of the measurement fields on the north wall of the palace. The reasons for this action remain a complete mystery, as it was not even motivated by the desire to take possession of small aluminium disks – all the elements broken off were left abandoned by the wall.
It may seem that the social harm of such an act is not high. However, damage to these markers makes it completely impossible to make comparisons between measurements, thus endangering the possibility of carrying of carrying out the entire task, encompassing several years of planning, almost three years of implementation, several hundred measurement sequences – works amounting to over PLN 80,000. For the project, the described act of vandalism occurred after the first series of measurements and before the start of the second. Five damaged disks were replaced and the measurements for the first series were repeated in these locations. However, during the next stages of work we will not be able to turn back time, and any damage to the markers will directly affect the end result of the project.
That is why we are asking for a moment of reflection and cessation of such harmful activities in the future. If they continue, they will be treated as dangerous acts of vandalism and will be met with a strong reaction from the museum.
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