Priceless stone sculptures that were smashed with hammers by Islamic State extremists in the ancient Syrian town of Palmyrahave been meticulously restored by Italian experts with the help of laser scans and 3D printers.
The 2nd century AD funerary busts – one of a man, the other of a woman – were vandalised by Isis terrorists after they overran the archeological site and its museum in 2015.
When the ancient desert outpost was retaken by Syrian and Russian forces, the artefacts were whisked to safety in Beirut.
They were then sent to Rome, where for the past two months experts have harnessed Italy’s formidable cultural heritage expertise to repair the damage.
Technicians used lasers to scan the shattered faces of the two figures and then sophisticated 3D printers to create resin parts that replaced the bits of stone that were lost during Isis’ rampage. The male figure was particularly badly smashed, with half its face missing.
In an image from a militant video posted on YouTube in May 2015, smoke rises behind archaeological ruins in Palmyra, Syria. CREDIT: AP
Experts in Rome produced a “prosthetic” for the side of the face that was lost. It is removable, so that if the original stone fragment is ever found, it can be reattached. The prosthetic attaches to the stone bust with the help of six tiny magnets.
“The resin prosthetics were coated with a very fine layer of stone dust to make them blend in with the original stone,” said Gisella Capponi, the director of the Italian Institute for Conservation and Restoration, which carried out the work. “It was a great honour for us to be able to restore such extraordinary artefacts, which were so brutally damaged by Isis.”
The institute, founded in 1939, has decades of experience working on artefacts from Pompeii and Rome, ancient Etruscan tombs and paintings by Renaissance masters such as Caravaggio.
A prosthetic part was fitted to the bust CREDIT: CHRIS WARDE-JONES /TELEGRAPH
Isil were pushed out of Palmyra in March last year but reoccupied the ancient site in December.
“There was a small window between Isis being expelled and them returning,” said Francesco Rutelli, a former culture minister and now head of a cultural heritage association. “Palmyra is once again a conflict zone, sadly. But at least these extraordinary works were rescued.”
The restoration of the artefacts was a tribute to Khaled al-Asaad, the 82-year-old head of antiquities in Palmyra, who was beheaded by Isis terrorists after refusing to reveal the location of artefacts that he had removed for safekeeping, said Mr Rutelli.
Daria Montemaggiori, a restorer, with the funerary bust of a woman, one of two brought from Palmyra and restored by the Italian Institute of Conservation and Restoration after damage inflicted by ISIS terrorists. CREDIT: CHRIS WARDE-JONES
Although Palmyra was part of the Roman empire, it is thought the man and woman were from a local family of wealthy merchants. Inscriptions on the busts are in Greek and Aramaic, rather than Latin.
“When I saw the state the busts were in I felt a great sadness and anguish,” said Daria Montemaggiori, a member of the restoration team.
The busts will be returned to Syria at the end of this month – they will be kept in Damascus until Isil are driven once again from Palmyra and the site is deemed to be secure.
Destruction at the museum of the ancient city of Palmyra CREDIT: JOSEPH EID/ AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The noble appearance of the man, who wears a Roman-style toga, and the woman, who has carved jewels around her neck and in the turban she wears, reflect the one-time importance of Palmyra, experts said.
“It was a very important trading town. A range of valuable things were traded through it, including ostriches, slaves, olive oil and precious stones and textiles,” said Frances Pinnock, a professor of ancient Near East archeology at La Sapienza University in Rome.
“It was part of the Roman Empire but then rebelled against Rome. This couple represent the elite of Palmyra, who were mostly rich merchants.”
A 3D computer image which was used to print the prosthetic replacement part CREDIT: CHRIS WARDE-JONES/TELEGRAPH
On Monday, Russia released drone footage of the latest destruction wrought by Isil militants in Palmyra. The drone footage showed that Isis have badly damaged the facade of the Roman-era theatre and the Tetrapylon - a set of four monuments with four columns each at the centre of the colonnaded road leading to the theatre.
The video appeared to show that only two of the 16 columns remain standing. Syrian government forces are involved in a new offensive to take the city back, advancing to within 12 miles of the World Heritage site.
