The 960 Year Old Door

Every time I leave the US for Europe, I am struck by just how much older cities are, and how much longer buildings have been standing here. The sense of an unbroken cultural history in England is staggering compared to the US's relatively brief existence. (I can't help thinking of Henry Gibson's particularly mean-spirited take on this, "200 Years" from Robert Altman's film "Nashville.") Westminster Abbey is a perfect example of this. The monarchs of England have been crowned here for nearly a thousand years. According to our guide, the legend goes that St. Peter visited two pilgrims in a vision and presented them a sapphire, which they brought the stone to William the Conqueror, the first king to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. The stone is still in the Imperial Crown.

Westminster Abbey also contains Britain's oldest door, built in 1050 A.D. Since you're not allowed to take photos inside Westminster Abbey, you'll have to trust me on this, or come see for yourself, but the door itself isn't exceptional looking. It's just an old, heavy, simple wooden door. If there hadn't been a plaque I probably wouldn't have given it a second look. At first, I was just a little amused to see the plaque, but as someone that's started thinking a lot about preservation lately, something about this door won't leave my head. Even though it's "just" a door, I do think there's something important about the fact that it's been standing for so long, and it's in a part of the church that's simpler and more austere than the beautiful but overwhelmingly decorated newer parts of the church, so it stands as a testament to changes in architectural styles, tastes, and capacities. Loss is inevitable; even parts of the Abbey have been lost and rebuilt, but of all the things that one might consciously pick to endure, I'm not sure that this door would be it. Nevertheless, I'm glad it made it.

I suppose that's part of what makes preservation so very difficult. You can't know in advance what's important. It's easy to think everything is important and want to save it all, but in a world of limited resources, that's not feasible. As we generate more and more digital artifacts, it's going to get even harder. Anyone who's interested in digital preservation will have heard computer expert Jeff Rothenberg's joke that digital media "lasts five years or forever--whichever comes first." There's very little doubt in my mind that, say, this blog won't last 960 years. If my little words get lost, it's probably not such a tragedy, but I wonder what we'll have lost out in 960 more years if we can't find ways to keep digital works going.