ABSTRACT
The first theme addressed in this session focuses on construction vocabulary and law, to give a definition of maintenance and to understand its institutional aspects. Who is in charge of the upkeep: the owner of the building, its user or tenant, its commissioner? And how do they manage it? Where do the financial means come from? Are they provided for in advance or on the other hand only summoned when necessary? What is the cost of maintenance for the community and does it impede other construction works? Can well thought-out
Yet, ensuring the longevity of many buildings to prevent them from decaying was a necessary and very concrete preoccupation in the ancient times as well. Today, specific budgets dedicated to the upkeep are planned in advance, sometimes even during the building’s construction. But how was it managed before the mid-nineteenth century theorisation? Maintenance regroups ordinary actions, which are usually not mentioned in historical sources. Tracking them down is not obvious because of their scarcity but can sometimes be done thanks to a close study of technical or juridical vocabulary as well as of accounting deeds which recorded the expenses. Nowadays archaeologists and historians more frequently look into architectural studies over the long-time scale: damages, repairs, adjustments or reconstructions belong to a monument’s life. Construction archaeology and material studies (stone, tiles, glass, metal…) have known a true development over the past twenty years and now allow highly complementary combined studies to grasp the material reality of this upkeep, exploring a field of research inconceivable only a few years ago.
