Archaeological artifacts returned from the Czech Republic to Syria after restoration

31.05.2023 / 09:35 | Aktualizováno: 31.05.2023 / 09:49

On 30 May 2023, the Czech Embassy in Damascus welcomed the delegation of the National Museum in Prague, which arrived in Damascus under the leadership of Director General Michal Lukeš together with a collection of 20 rare objects from Syria. These archaeologically valuable artifacts have undergone restoration and conservation by experts from the restoration workshops of the National Museum's History Museum and are now returning to the National Museum in Damascus after a year.

Restored artifacts from the Bronze Age (2000-1200 BC), Iron Age (1200-1000 BC), and Roman Age (1st century BC to 3rd century AD) come from various archaeological sites throughout Syria, among the most famous are, for example, Ugarit and Palmyra.

Before the return of the objects, they were presented at an exhibition „Renewed Face“ in the National Museum in Prague, which was held in close cooperation with the Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The event is one of the results of Czech assistance in saving world cultural heritage in Syria. For several years now, the Czech National Museum has been supporting its Syrian colleagues through the Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums of the Syrian Arab Republic, within the framework of humanitarian and development aid from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs program called the Reconstruction Program of the Czech Republic in the Middle East Region. The Czech National Museum provides part of the materials needed for restoration and conservation work in Syria, since there is an absolute lack of these necessary materials. The restoration of damaged artifacts in the restoration workshops of the National Museum is the next phase of the Czech assistance.