Restoration of Palmyra monuments possible - Russian Academy of Sciences' Archaeology Institute head
MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - The Russian Academy of Sciences' experts believe that following the liberation of Palmyra from terrorists it would be possible to restore both the Palmyra museum as a whole and separate objects, including the famous Arch of Triumph.
"Palmyra is a tremendous open-air museum. It is possible to restore it. It is an enormous territory with Roman ruins in varying degree of preservation. This is why it is possible and necessary to restore the museum," Nikolai Makarov, the Russian Academy of Sciences' Archaeology Institute head, said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel.
He said that the restoration of separate monuments is a more complex issue that should be discussed among experts.
"Some monuments were blown up, but a fairly large part of them remained on the site, and they can be restored. The famous Arch of Triumph can possibly be restored and other monuments need to be dealt separately, it's a difficult experts decision that should be adopted following an examination of the monuments," Makarov said.
Replying to a question regarding the terms of the historical site's restoration, Makarov said: "Probably, it is possible to bring it into such a condition that tourist visits there would be possible again in a year." "Palmyra is such a unique object that it will be of relevance even in this mangled state, the most important thing is the safety [of visits there]," he said.
He said that there will be tasks not only for restoration specialists, but also for archaeologists in the territory of ancient Palmyra. "A vast amount of territories still haven't been excavated, there is a huge necropolis, but the most important is to restore the modern condition [of the monuments] and adopt the experts' decision on how to prepare a new exhibition, which would convey the charm of the Roman city preserved in the desert," Makarov said.
He said that the task of restoring Palmyra as a museum is "currently more relevant than any new research program."