Lasers turn back time on Rome’s Column of Marcus Aurelius

Just as cosmetic surgeons wield lasers to smooth away wrinkles, archaeologists in Rome are firing beams of light at history itself, peeling away decades of grime from one of the city’s most storied monuments.

Restorers are making the most extensive use yet of laser cleaning in Italy to remove layers of dirt from the Column of Marcus Aurelius, a 1,840-year-old masterpiece that celebrates the emperor’s victories over barbarian tribes along the Danube.

The hand-held lasers concentrate flickering beams of light onto the stone, with the heat they generate lifting away black deposits of pollution to reveal the white Carrara marble beneath.

“It is the same principle of a doctor removing unwanted hair or skin,” said Marta Baumgartner, the project’s lead architect.

“The laser is producing excellent results in the restoration and we have chosen to use it on the entire external frieze of the column.”

Carved around AD 180, the spiral frieze loops 23 times around the shaft, rising to a height of almost 40 metres (130 ft) and depicting more than 2,000 figures, including gods, soldiers and beasts. Aurelius himself appears in several places.

The reliefs illustrate the violence of warfare – the vivid scenes providing scholars with invaluable information about this era of Roman history. Throats are cut, heads sliced off and a woman dragged into slavery by her hair.

The column remains in its original place, but most other remnants of ancient Rome have long gone from that part of the city. It now stares down on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s official residence, with parliament nearby.

Restoration work started in March and is due to finish early next year at a cost of 2 million euros ($2.3 million) – the money drawn from cheap loans and grants handed to Italy by the European Union to help it recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We received this substantial funding, so it was an opportunity that absolutely could not be missed,” said Baumgartner.

Pope Sixtus V carried out the first restoration in the late 16th century, swapping out the original statue of Aurelius on the top with one of St. Paul, who remains there to this day.

The last clean-up was carried out in the 1980s, but time and the elements take a continuous toll, with conservators finding areas where the marble was starting to detach, requiring swift stabilisation.

“Hopefully there will be no surprises in future. It will now be constantly monitored and we can intervene when needed,” said Baumgartner.