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Experts restoring Syria’s ancient artifacts as it returns to normality: Video

Visitors walk in front of the Lion of al-Lat, an ancient statue from the temple of the same name in Palmyra, during their visit to the national antiquities museum in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 28, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Experts at the Damascus National Museum in Syria have been trying to restore ancient relics damaged during more than seven years of deadly war in the Arab state, as the world prepares itself to bring life in the Arab country back to normality with the defeat of terrorism.

In the throes of war, Syrian authorities shut down numerous museums around the country to protect ancient artifacts and Damascus National Museum was one of them.

The museum did not reopen until October of this year.

The reopening of the museum comes in tandem with the restoration process of the damaged artifacts. 

Heba Jouma, a member of the restoration team at the Damascus National Museum, was born in the ancient city of Palmyra. For her, the job is particularly special, as many damaged artifacts are also from Palmyra. 

"Most of the sculptures have come from the Palmyra Museum and some of them were discovered recently and came from the [Damascus National Museum]. They were sent here after the liberation of Palmyra. The condition that they're in is not good," said Jouma.

She said they use lime mortars to restore the damaged parts of the artifacts according to file photos. The restoration for every artifact needs careful attention, as a result, this procedure takes a long time. 

Right now, there are about 500 pieces of artifacts in need of restoration in the museum. However, the restoration team only consists of ten people. The team has no idea how long it will take to restore all of the damaged artifacts. 

"I think it is impossible to estimate how long it will take for the restoration, as the condition of each sculpture varies. They need maintenance, restoration, repair or piecing together and it will take a long time to complete," said Joamaa. 

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During the war in Syria, many artifacts were destroyed or went missing. As the conflict began in 2011, authorities closed museums and safely relocated more than 300,000 artifacts, but many sites were destroyed by Daesh and other terrorist groups, damaged by the fighting or looted.

However, Syria’s Minister of Culture Mohamed al-Ahmad said in October that 9,000 artifacts have been restored and reclaimed out of hundreds of thousands of significant articles and sculptures that were smuggled abroad during the militancy. 


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