Today, the walls are still one of the York's most popular features.

The council has adopted a clear plan for maintaining them. In 1990 we commissioned a detailed survey of the condition of the walls. This has been used to design a programme of restoration and conservation works that will last for at least 15 years. This survey forms the basis for all the works done on the walls. The council spends around £100,000 a year on its conservation programme.
Conservation

When conservation work is planned the first task is to record the walls in detail. This is usually done by a photographic process called photogrammetry which produces a very accurate drawing. The drawing is then given to archaeologists who can identify the different types of stone and mortar, the different features and the different phases of building activity.

If conservation work involves excavations for new foundations the excavation work is done by a team of archaeologists. Normally the works are less extensive.

The main problem is that the walls are not solid. They consist of a front wall and a back wall - filled with loose rubble. The front and back walls are not tied together and tend to want to move away from each other. To prevent this they are tied together using stainless steel bars. Archaeologists record all the holes dug in the walkway to put these bars in.