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the sculpture, no one had combined the sculptures with the blueprints, so Bernie’s team had to figure it out for themselves. A very rough estimate of the minimum num- ber of statues could be made for the bath block, which had 108 niches. There were a similar number of other spots in the in- tercolumniations and in the open spaces of the rooms where statues could have been exhibited. So a very conservative estimate is that there were over 200 statues in the bath block. Of these, only seventy-three survived.
Unfortunately, we know the exact ancient positions of only six of the seventy-three. For another twenty-six, we at least know in which room they stood. All we know about the remaining forty-one is that they were found in modern times somewhere in the bath block. Thanks to partner- ships with several museums, Bernie and his team were able to digitize the relevant statues in 3D. These were then restored for use in the reconstruction.
Professor Frischer concluded by showing a virtual video tour of the reconstructed Baths presenting the single most impres- sive work of art surviving from ancient Greece and Rome—the Farnese Bull. The massive sculpture is more than four me- ters in height and was found in the gener- al area of the east palestra. Discovered in fragments in 1545 during an excavation sponsored by Pope Paul III, the statue was taken to the Farnese Palace in Rome to be restored—hence the name.
You can view more of Professor Frischer’s incredible work at https://www.flyover- zone.com; https://www.worldhistory.org/ video/199/a-tour-of-hadrians-villa-with- dr-bernard-frischer/; and https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=8vke LTTVtqE.
Fran Wikstrom
Salt Lake City, UT
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IN RECONSTRUCTION
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