Mérimée warned his conservators to avoid the "false-ancient": he ordered them to carry out "the reproduction of that which manifestly existed. Reproduce with prudence the parts destroyed, where there exist certain traces. Don't give yourself to inventions... When the traces of the ancient state are lost, the wisest is to copy the analog motifs in a building of the same type in the same province". However, some of his restorers, notably Viollet-le-Duc, were later criticized for sometimes being guided by the spirit of the gothic or romanesque architectural style, if the original appearance was not known.