Archaeology, Visual Moments and the Stopping of Time in Hiroshima

Subsurface investigation has long been a core activity in archaeology. Though undeniably important, this has had the effect of vectoring observation insistently downwards and emphasizing time in terms of stratigraphic position. Above-ground marks inscribed by specific momentary events in time can also disclose rich archaeological information but require different ways of seeing. I consider three brief examples of this. The first is that of Hiroshima in 1945 and how watches worn at the moment the atomic bomb was detonated represent visual testimony. I then turn to the case of Pompeii and how the casts of victims of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD represent an attempt to solidify time. The final example centers on damage inflicted on the Athenian Parthenon in centuries past and the connection with present-day programs of restoration.