Mahmoud Hammoud and Mikhail Piotrovsky signing the agreement in Damascus © Courtesy of the State Hermitage Museum
Russia and Syria will team up to create a masterplan to restore the National Museum of Palmyra as a basis for reviving the ancient city in Syria. The State Hermitage Museum and Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences signed agreements in Damascus with Syrias Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM).
The director of the Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, was in Syria for the ceremony along with the institutes deputy director Natalya Solovyova. The Hermitage posted a statement on its website yesterday saying: “Both agreements are a tangible step in the significant development of museum and research ties between Russia and Syria.”
Among the long-term goals of the agreement are the Hermitage and the National Museum of Oman working together to restore 20 Syrian antiquities, primarily from Palmyra; an international campaign to restore Palmyra, seriously damaged by Isis; and the formation of an international expert group under the auspices of Unesco and DGAM, together with the Hermitage and Aga Khan Foundation.
Russia has ramped up its presence in the war-torn country following President Donald Trumps abrupt withdrawal of US troops in October. The Hermitage and the institute conducted a joint Read More – Source
