Destruction of Cultural Heritage in 19th Century France examines the fate of the building stock and prominent ruins of France (especially Roman survivals) in the 19th century, supported by contemporary documentation and archives, largely provided through the publications of scholarly societies. The book describes the enormous extent of the destruction of monuments, providing an antidote to the triumphalism and concomitant amnesia which in modern scholarship routinely present the 19th century as one of concern for the past. It charts the modernising impulse over several centuries, detailing the archaeological discoveries made (and usually destroyed) as walls were pulled down and town interiors re-planned, plus the brutal impact on landscape and antiquities as railways were laid out. Heritage was largely scorned, and identity found in modernity, not the past.
Michael Greenhalgh, PhD (1968), Emeritus Professor of Art History at the Australian National University, has published widely on the survival of the Roman world, most recently The Military and Colonial Destruction of the Roman landscape of North Africa (Leiden 2014).
Contents
Preface
Map of France
Introduction: Heritage and Identity in 19th Century France
1 The Early Architecture of France
Spolia and the Persistence of Re-use Prehistoric Antiquities Roman Sites in France Rome in Imperial Decline After Antiquity Conclusion: Preventable Destruction
2 The Defence of France
The Enceintes of Late Antiquity Old Fortifications Cannot Satisfy New Requirements New Requirements: Barracks Le genie de la destruction: The French Military and the Defence of France Servitude et grandeur militaires – and boulevards The Genie in North Africa Conclusion: The Fate of Town Walls and Monuments
3 Technology and Change: Improved Communications
Railways Map-making Military and Civil Roads, Canals and Bridges Photography Tourism Conclusion
4 Vandalism, Ignorance, Scholarship, Museums
Heritage and Destruction Vandalism Preservation, Conservation, Restoration: The Dilemma Destruction, Resurrection and Vandalism Ignorance: Workmen, Administrators, Proprietors Administration and Destruction The Persistence of Vandalism Money, Speculators, Scholars Conclusion
5 The Organisation of Scholarship and Museums
Archaeology and Archaeologists Cataloguing the Past: Censuses of Antiquities Conclusion
6 Modernity and its Architectural Consequences
Modernity Communications and Industry Modernisation and Destruction Bordeaux and Paris: Leaders of the Pack Conclusion
7 The Île de France and Champagne
Beauvais, Evreux, Reims, Laon, Sens, Soissons Conclusion
8 Normandy, the North, Burgundy and Points East
Normandy and The Loire The North The East Burgundy (plus Points East and the Upper Rhone Valley) Conclusion
9 Centre and West
Bourges, Auxerre, Orleans, Limoges, Clermont Ferrand, Perigueux, Poitiers, Saintes, Toulouse Conclusion
10 Centuries of Destruction: Narbonne and Nîmes
Narbonne Nimes Conclusion
Conclusion: Heritage? What Heritage? The Transformation of Townscape and Landscape
Appendix
Bibliography: Sources
Bibliography: Modern Scholars
Index
Illustrations
All interested in the survival and influence of the Roman past, attitudes towards it in 19th-century France, including the formation of museums, and debates over preservation and restoration of monuments.