Destruction
The ships were destroyed by fire in World War II on the night of May 31, 1944. Several US army shells hit the Museum around 8 pm causing little damage but forcing the German artillery to leave the area. Around two hours later smoke was seen coming from the Museum. There are conflicting views on which side was responsible for the destruction:
At that time, Allied forces were pursuing the retreating German army northward through the Alban Hills toward Rome. On May 28, a German artillery post was established within 400 feet (120 m) of the museum … An official report filed in Rome later that year described the tragedy as a willful act on the part of the German soldiers. A German editorial blamed the destruction on American artillery fire. The true story of what happened that night will probably never be known.
Only the bronzes, a few charred timbers and some material stored in Rome survived the fire. Due to the destruction, research effectively stopped until the 1980s. The museum was restored and reopened in 1953. One-fifth scale models of the ships were built in the Naples naval dockyard and these along with the remaining artifacts are housed there.
Read more about this topic: Nemi Ships
Famous quotes containing the word destruction:
“In nothing was slavery so savage and relentless as in its attempted destruction of the family instincts of the Negro race in America. Individuals, not families; shelters, not homes; herding, not marriages, were the cardinal sins in that system of horrors.”
—Fannie Barrier Williams (1855–1944)
“The least pain in our little finger gives us more concern and uneasiness than the destruction of millions of our fellow-beings.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)
“We are heading towards catastrophe. I think the world is going to pieces. I am very pessimistic. Why? Because the world hasn’t been punished yet, and the only punishment that could be adequate is the nuclear destruction of the world.”
—Elie Wiesel (b. 1928)