**The Silencio Archaeological Site: Restoration of a Sphere**

One morning in May, collaborators from the National Museum of Costa Rica, residents of Osa, and representatives from the indigenous Boruca community gathered at the El Silencio Archaeological Site to visit the largest sphere discovered to date.

The existence of the El Silencio sphere was first documented in 1992. In 2012, the excavation and complete study were conducted, according to Mr. Francisco Corrales from the National Museum.

With a diameter of 2.5 meters, the sphere is ancient and has suffered from the harsh climate, resulting in alterations to its natural color, cracks, and material loss.

Dr. Isabel Medina González, a Mexican restorer and archaeology expert specializing in cultural heritage and museum studies, along with her assistant, Valeria Villalvazo, is part of a team of 11 specialists. They are conducting a thorough research to diagnose the sphere's damage, collect data, and determine the best course of action for its treatment and preservation as a historical artifact.

Among the Costa Rican specialists in archeology and protection of the National Museum of Costa Rica, the restorer Alfredo Duncan, the archaeologists Javier Fallas, Adrián Badilla and Francisco Corrales stand out.

Doña Isabel stressed that the condition of this monumental sphere must be gradually improved. One of the first measures was the placement of sand around it to prevent water from accumulating. During 20 days in situ, the specialists measured the humidity, alkalinity, depth of the wounds, hardness or porosity in the gabbro stone with state-of-the-art methods that allow the bio-colonization of small algae and micro-organisms. They took 3D images of the sculptures to digitalize them by the National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models (Lanamme) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR).

After the visit to El Silencio the group visited Finca 6 and finally drove up to the indigenous village of Boruca, where Doña Margarita waited for them to present a large sphere that is located in front of the village museum.

By Dagmar Reinhard

INFO: Museo Nacional - http://www.museocostarica.go.cr – Parque de las Esferas

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