That sounds more painful than it is - a stele (plural stelae) is a slab of stone or wood, generally taller than they are wide, which are erected for commemorative purposes, and there are 2,711 of them at the Holocaust Memorial. Made of special concrete, after just a couple of years of exposure to the elements, around 400 are developing cracks, especially those on the southwest site of the memorial, which is most exposed to the sun.

No-one's quite sure what the cause is, though theoretically this shouldn't be happening - the stelae were made to a very stringent design. The Memorial is considering filling the cracks with synthetic resin, but if the problems continue, some of the stelae may have to be replaced.

Posted at 11:06 AM in