Only 16 percent of Gelati monument roof damaged, says cultural heritage agency head
Rehabilitation works on Gelati have been ongoing since 2008, with roof replacement for the central St Mary Temple of the complex initiated four years ago. Photo via National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia.
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Only 16 percent of roof tiling of the Gelati UNESCO World Heritage Site has been damaged by adverse weather as repair works are ongoing at the site, Nikoloz Antidze, General Director of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, said in comments to media on Friday.
Antidze spoke about the damage to the recently installed roof tiles on the central part of the Gelati Monastery Complex in Georgia's west, where media reported rainwater leakage last week.
In his comments the head of the state agency said frescoes on walls of the monument had not been damaged, unlike earlier reports. Antidze said the present damage on frescoes had been observed on them before rainwater leaked through the roofing starting last winter.
A closer view of the roof tiling that has been used as a new cover for the central part of the complex. Photo via National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia.
He also told local media "minor defects" for rehabilitation efforts similar to the one ongoing at Gelati were "common occurrence".
The Georgian Arts & Culture Centre, the contractor organisation working on the roof of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, is analysing new tiling pieces being prepared to replace the current ones, in efforts to rectify the damage.
The organisation said earlier this week the damage to tiling was "impossible to predict" as none of the tiles later revealed to have failed had shown signs of visual defects during inspection after they were produced, and had undergone laboratory testing on "mechanical characteristics" before being used in the rehabilitation works.
The centre also noted a "powerful hydro insulation layer" under the tiles had worked as intended, minimising leaks through the roof and into the building.
The Gelati Monastery, one of Georgia’s major cultural heritage sites, is undergoing efforts to place it among monuments enjoying tourist infrastructure and support of highest quality.
Ancient frescos at the 12th Century Gelati Monastery have been damaged by several days of heavy rain. It's understood rainwater leaked through the roof of the Monastery complex and damaged a portion of historic wall paintings.
The Khvamli Cave Fort, a cavernous complex of defensive fortifications in Georgia's west, used for military purposes throughout the middle ages and turned into a source of folk myths, has been designated as a national cultural heritage monument.
The deteriorating facade of the iconic 6th century Jvari Monastery, which stands perched atop a hill outside the ancient Georgian capital of Mtskheta, will undergo conservation and reinforcement work supported by the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation at the United States Embassy in Tbilisi.
Temporary roof structure over the Gelati Monastery Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Georgia's west, will be completed before December and allow replacement of the roof structure of the monument below it, the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation said on Monday.
The National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation has fined and replaced the company working on the ongoing rehabilitation of the Gelati Monastery Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country's west, for failing to fix deficiencies in the work.
The National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation is working to launch prompt rehabilitation works on a section of the gate around the Gelati Monastery Complex, after its partial collapse this week.
Ana Natsvlishvili, one of the leaders of the Lelo opposition party in Georgia, has asked the prosecutor's office of the country to launch an investigation into possible "wrongful rehabilitation" process of the UNESCO-listed Gelati Monastery Complex by state cultural organisations.
Experts are working at western Georgia's Gelati Monastery Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to study rainwater leak and fresco damage reported from the monument this week.
The organisation involved in rehabilitation works on western Georgia's Gelati Monastery Complex has said damage to roof tiling of the monument, which led to rainwater leakage reported last week, was "impossible to predict", with planning for fixing the damage still ongoing.
Professionals from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre will visit Georgia to issue recommendations on the ongoing rehabilitation of the Gelati Monastery Complex, following a fraught work on the site that resulted in damage to its newly installed roof and rainwater leaks last year.
Some damage caused to frescoes at western Georgia's UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gelati by rainwater leaks will be irreversible, Thea Tsulukiani, the Minister of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia, said on Friday, as she also revealed an ongoing investigation into the causes of the botched rehabilitation at the complex.