We have just returned from Liverpool having completed the installation of the Calder stones. Whilst we were sad to see them leave us, it was an exciting install and we have found ourselves with a lot more breathing space in the workshop!
It took us five long days to install and mount the six stones. We designed a mounting system using steel channel section cored into a concrete substructure which supported the ground level areas of the stone, with the lower areas mounted in Jesmonite to protect them from water ingress and further salt movement.
The stones are now displayed in a layout more sympathetic to their original purpose – as walls of a burial chamber. The stones are facing each other in two rows of three, creating a walkway in between. There will be a living roof above them, suggesting the Neolithic enclosure, and a glass wall at one end to facilitate viewing the stones from the outer courtyard of the restored theatre wing. Due to the height of the stones, and therefore our gantry, the new exhibition space will be built around the stones. We have boxed the stones in for protection during this phase, and will return later in the year to reveal them and carry out the final conservation treatments.
