In a message dated 23/07/2003 14:09:29 GMT Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> Are there not plaster casts from Tra jan's column in the Victoria and Albert
> Museum which are easier to see, and in that sense better, than the original
> carvings?
>

From the point of view of examining detail on the carvings, yes they are
better, but for getting an idea of the monument as a whole, not as it has been
divided up into at least two sections.  Other casts there include the Viking
period cross at Gosforth and this shows the amount of erosion that has taken place
over the hundred years or so since the cast was made.  While this clearly
demonstrates the virtue of making replicas, it does beg the question; should the
cross have been brought in out of the elements and a replica substituted or
does the replica act as a record while it remains in its original context?

cheers

Catherine