Restoration of damaged landmarks in Palmyra may take 5 years
The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums has sent a team of archaeologists to Palmyra city to assess damage ISIS terrorists did there, Director of Heritage Sites in the DGAM Nazir Awad says.
He underlined that the restoration of damaged landmarks in Palmyra city will take up to five years if the financial support and suitable circumstances are available after the approval of the UNESCO , which is a partner in the work in the city .
“According to the recent photos of the city and the available information, about 80% of the Palmyra’s landmarks are in good condition. However, the danger lies in the secret excavations carried out by ISIS terrorists,” Awad added.
Last Saturday, the Syrian army in cooperation with allied forces regained control over Palmyra city and eliminated all ISIS gatherings there.
DGAM published photos of Palmyra museum after restoration of peace and stability to the city. http://www.dgam.gov.sy/?d=314&id=1957
The photos show broken statues with peeled faces thrown to floor, the fact that makes restorations possible with preserving the historic value of them.
On the other hand, the staff of DGAM regional office in Palmyra had evacuated about 400 statues or heads of statues, in addition to hundreds of exhibits at the museum, i.e. artifacts, transportable statues, storage boxes.
But the ISIS terrorists’ sudden invasion into the city in May 2015 made it difficult to evacuate the larger statues and a few exhibited heads of statues fixed on the walls of the museum halls.
Basma Qaddour