"Through the 19th century, as archaeology started to emerge as a systematic discipline, plaster casting became a widely-adopted technique, newly applied by archaeologists to document and transmit discoveries from their expeditions. The Parthenon sculptures were some of the first to be cast. In the late 18th century and the first years of the 19th century, the French artist Fauvel and Lord Elgin's men conducted campaigns on the Athenian Acropolis. Both created casts of parts of the Parthenon sculpturesthat they did not remove and these were sent back to France and Britainwhere they were esteemed and displayed alongside other, original sections.Henceforth, casting was established as an essential archaeological tool andgrew exponentially over the course of the century. Such casts are now notonly fascinating historical objects but may also be considered timecapsules, capturing the details of important ancient works when they werefirst moulded in centuries past. This book examines the role of 19th centurycasts as an archaeological resource and explores how their materiality andspread impacted the reception of the Parthenon sculptures and other Greekand Roman works. Investigation of their historical context is combined withanalysis of new digital models of the Parthenon sculptures and their casts.Sensitive 3D imaging techniques allow investigation of the surface markingsof the objects in exceptionally fine detail and enable quantitativecomparative studies comparing the originals and the casts. The 19th centurycasts are found to be even more accurate, but also complex, thananticipated; through careful study of their multiple layers, we can retrieve surface information now lost from the originals through weathering and vandalism"-- Provided by publisher.