ABSTRACT
In a previous contribution (Van Balen 2003) we have advocated to integrate the chain of preservation into the authenticity debate of conservation. A particular role was identified for “workmanship”.
A study on repair of ancient masonry structures of a fortress (Fort IV), part of the great defence works in Belgium in the middle of the nineteenth century in Mortsel, close to Antwerp in Belgium and the execution of the repair work, have shown that not only analysis is required for identifying mortar to be used for repairing historic masonry, but that also the exchange with craftsmen is essential in the final decision on the mortar composition to be used.The fortress corridor around Antwerp was one of the largest construction sites in Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century. Documentation on the construction technologies used those days is available and was used in the technical analysis preceding the conservation works.
