Since 2009 the DAI Rome has been coordinating the reinstallation of the National Archaeological Museum in Cherchell, Algeria, in collaboration with the Ministère de la Culture in Algiers and with support from the German Foreign Office.
Breakage surface with old dowel holes and fractures (Photo: A. Fiorin) 
Torso of female statue S 14, Landwehr Kat. 61. Trial fitting on a plaster cast (Photo: A. Fiorin) 
A limestone addition made by Alberto Fiorin (Photo: U. Kreilinger) 
To get to the dowels in the legs of Herakles, the statue had to be turned upside down (Photo: Borowska, DAI)
Every statue in the unique collection of classical sculpture is being inspected, one by one, to see how bad the damage is from earlier breakages and rusting iron dowels. Can the old holes be reused for new dowels to hold the statue together? Or should a plaster cast be taken of the fracture surface so that a precisely fitting limestone piece can be made to offer additional support for the new stainless steel dowels that are to be fitted? The latter is more time-consuming but in the event of an earthquake it would provide greater stability for the 480 kg torso of a female statue (Inv. S 14, Roman imperial statue from the mid 1st century AD). The reinstallation of the sculptures is almost finished and the museum will reopen shortly.