Restoration of Syrian artifacts in the Czech National Museum

The Czech National Museum announced its intention to restore about 20 unique Syrian artifacts, most of them from Palmyra, some dating back to 4000 BC.

The artifacts were transferred last week from Syria to Prague in cooperation with the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums.

The Czech National Museum’s Director Michal Lukis said during a press conference held on June 8thin Prague that the artifacts will be restored in the museum’s workshops in the presence of Syrian specialists before returning them to Syria.

Lukis expected the process to take about a year and said that this event is the culmination of the existing cooperation with the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Syria for five years.

Lukis pointed out that before returning the artifacts, an exhibition of them will be organized in the Czech National Museum to be presented to visitors.

Lukis said that the restoration process is carried out within the framework of the Czech government program for humanitarian and development assistance in Syria.

For his part, the representative of the Syrian embassy in Prague, Dr. Samir Massad, indicated that the Czech Republic was among the first countries that offered Syria assistance in the field of preserving antiquities and restoring those destroyed by terrorist groups.

Massad expressed  hope that  cooperation between Syria and the Czech Republic in this field would be an example for other countries to contribute to saving the ancient Syrian cultural heritage, which is not only the property of Syria, but the whole world.

O. al-Mohammad