ST. PETERSBURG, August 2. /TASS/. Experts from the St. Petersburg-based Institute of the History of Material Culture (IIMK) of the Russian Academy of Sciences will take part in a joint Russian-Syrian expedition that will be tasked to conserve ancient monuments in Syria, Natalia Solovyova, IIMK deputy director and head of the projects for the preservation of Palmyra and early Christian churches in Syria, told TASS on Monday.
"Currently, another, the third, joint Russian-Syrian expedition is being prepared to save Syrian historical sites. Scientists from the two countries will carry out conservation works at a number of sites and will compile digital databases on them, including 3D models," she said.
She said that an international expeditions organize by her institute in 2021 had begun, jointly with Syrian colleagues, the implementation of the project for the preservation of early Christian churches in Syria. According to Solovyova, experts examined Early Middle Ages Byzantine churches in the village of Deir al-Salib in the north of the Syrian Hama governorate and the Qasr Ibn Wardan basilica’ also known as the Temple of the Four Elements. The expedition found three early Christian Churches with distinct traces of the war. The expedition’s task is to prepare documents for the preservation of damaged historical sites, Solovyova noted.
The Institute of the History of Material Culture is one of Russia’s leading organizations in the sphere of the use of digital techniques for the preservation of archaeological heritage. It created the most complete and precise digital model of ancient Palmyra that was handed over to Syria’s Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums and UNESCO to organize further preservation and restoration works.