I decided to distance myself from all the noise surrounding the Pontevedra Museum and outline the views expressed in different ways in recent days by the Vice-President of the Pontevedra Delegation or Mr. Dominguez. Secondly, the purpose of developing the interior of the Santa Clara convent complex, that is, an archaeological laboratory, is not based on rationality and has no personal interests, which is related to my condition as an archaeologist. An unfortunate personal opinion, but nothing more. Now, the Santa Clara Church’s latest press release is even more serious. It is impossible to ask him to destroy a garden to build a warehouse, in the same way to define an intervention as a disaster, or to hear that he cannot allow limestone found in the province to be loaded onto a truck. The truck will be stored in Santa Clara. Feeling grief and caraxes vary. These views would make those with even the slightest affection or attachment to our cultural heritage blush, but would be inappropriate for someone with the political responsibility of running a museum. There was such unwarranted animosity and such vast differences between us that, for both personal and professional reasons, I felt the need to open up to public opinion and reveal some relevant details to justify the work being done. Especially because, unlike others, I understand that no matter how many times a lie is repeated, it doesn’t necessarily become the truth.
The Vice-President of the Pontevedra delegation should know by now that he did not enter the management of the Pontevedra Museum because of his status as an archaeologist, but because he had unanimously won an open invitation to the Qualifications Tribunal, which made it public Professionals with management experience and extensive experience were convened. You can apply for various degrees related to the humanities. Therefore, my selection took into account both my professional resume and the project of management and organization of the museum that I proposed as an archaeologist.
Starting from the strategic plan, that is, the overall action plan proposed for the Pontevedra Museum, which defines the mission, vision and the values it creates and guides the daily practice of the museum, as goals to be achieved, divided into ten strategic lines, Developed through three and five different actions. Mr. Dominguez must have known that none of them had anything to do with archaeological structures, since he naively could not have imagined the conditions in which archaeological collections would be found in such a recently constructed building or in the Castelao building. So when we were diagnosing the archaeological funding discovery situation in May and June 2019, we started thinking about how to solve the very critical issues at the time.
It should not be ignored that the Pontevedra Museum is the only archaeological collection that is growing every week, since it is a reference center for depositing materials from archaeological interventions carried out in most parts of the province. It should also be noted that, by their very nature, there are significant differences in their types, materials, sizes and environmental requirements, which ultimately lead to difficulties in their successful storage in pantries.
Although it may appear that there is no space for collections, especially archaeological collections, there is currently criticism that due to the inability to accept new collections, not just archaeological collections, it does not take long to collect them. Even over the years, the museum’s team of conservators and conservation restorers have done an outstanding job compressing and optimizing the archaeological deposits, saving time and space in the short term while correcting safety issues. Stems from the presence of pallets and boxes of material occupying aisles and evacuation routes. Some data can help understand the true dimensions of the problem. The quantity of small material extracted from archaeological deposits during 2010-2019 was 1,301 euro containers (40-60 litres) and 29 pallets of medium and large material. Furthermore, archaeological collections grow at a rate of 50 to 100 euros per container per year, with peaks often exceeding this annual growth rate, such as in 2012 (306 boxes) or 2017 (276 boxes). However, in addition to the year-on-year growth, it is realistically predicted that in the coming months some important deposits awaiting formalization will be delivered, which, with a quick calculation, will amount to more than two 1,200 euro containers and dozens of pallets.
Problems of preventive conservation affecting the archaeological collections are also evident, mainly due to the poor functional planning of the Castellao building and the poorly designed layout of the same floor – 2, which was originally designed as a vehicle garage instead of a storage room. Due to this situation, the space around archaeological deposits, in addition to being scarce, lacks temperature and humidity control, as well as dedicated areas for the preservation of materials with more stringent environmental conditions, such as organic, metallic or metallic materials. Water pipes running through it can negatively impact collection.
But more importantly, the Pontevedra Museum lacks two important functional areas to successfully manage its archaeological collections, which is unheard of in a museum that is about to celebrate its centenary and has such funding. For example, it is not possible here to wash away archaeological material from an archaeological intervention, nor to disseminate it by its abbreviations, photographs or reintegration. The lack of appropriate working areas also made it impossible to receive in good conditions archaeologists who came to deliver or study materials found in the reserve rooms. There are also no visitable protected areas where the public can access some of the civil objects, such as the landmark currently confined to a bag at the base of the Sarmiento building. To make matters more serious, there are two archaeological foundations in charge, the conservatives and the conservators-restorators, working in the garage of the forest-2, which lacks natural light and ventilation. To all these deficiencies I intend to give a complete response or archaeological center aiming to follow or surpass other reference museums.
As far as the exterior spaces of the Santa Clara buildings are concerned, it should be known that they do not refer to us, since they are directly derived from the medieval Verxel. No, they are degraded areas that have undergone profound transformation in recent decades, with a very poor phytosanitary status and with multiple tree species dying or unable to recover. This idyllic medieval landscape exists only in our imaginations and the archaeological record. But do not be fooled, realizing the need to intervene in the spaces of Horta, orchards and forests in order to restore the essence of these spaces, to preserve their intimate and concentrated character, respecting their essence and historical fabric is also one way to do it. There is no doubt that they will be reflected in the landscaping project.
From my training, I deeply believe that I have no objections and that I have no right to have a different opinion, but an assessment like the one provided by the Vice-President of the Pontevedra delegation is unfortunate and constitutes a complete lack of respect for different technical personnel . The museum and the Pontevedra delegation participated in the configuration of the Santa Clara convent complex, which is exemplary in many respects. It also assumes an unwarranted and irresponsible disregard for the jury that evaluates the selected proposals, composed of professionals with long careers and recognized international reputation in the fields of architecture and museology, in particular the architectural studio that won the competition Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos is internationally recognized for its sophistication in museum design and the treatment of historic restorations it undertakes around the world. I recommend that you visit its website so that you can discover for yourself the sensibilities that guide all of its projects, recognize the loss that abandoning its projects would mean for the Pontevedra Museum and the city, and gain a visual understanding of the reputational consequences of blocking this project. the severity of the damage. The Pontevedra delegation represents the abolition or international competition.
They know that the politicians responsible for the Pontevedra Museum do not have to know all these things, but they should be properly informed before expressing their opinions. The Center for the Integrated Management of the Archaeological Collections of the Pontevedra Museum is not the whim of an archaeologist, but recommendations for the future are based on analysis, critical reflection and the practical needs of the Pontevedra Museum, drawing on successful experiences elsewhere in Spain. and Europe. I thought even archaeological research had temporarily rendered the foothills of the Castellao Mansion dead, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes the stones collected from our mountains, which the Vice President disliked so much, were brought to the museum by proud students and collaborators who contributed to the creation of the Pontevedra Museum, which he loved.
I hope Mr. Dominguez’s future decisions will be as thoughtful and thoughtful as ours. EU, stay here or leave. All the best, the Pontevedra Museum is worth it!
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