Gelati Monastery Complex to be covered by tin structure to protect inscriptions, paintings inside
A solid tin roof will cover all four arms of the main temple this time, says the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation, while other parts of the church have already been roofed. Photo: Georgian Heritage.
Tweet 
Share
All the architectural segments of the Gelati Monastery Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Georgia's west, will be temporarily covered by the end of this year, says the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation.
A solid tin roof will cover all four arms of the main temple this time, says the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation, while other parts of the church have already been roofed.
The work to prevent damaging the church during the winter season will be carried out by the Georgian Arts & Culture Centre and its contractor company Ikorta 2007.
The third phase of the roofing aims to fully protect the wall painting of the Gelati church and water inflow into the interior during the winter.
During the first and second phase of roofing, the base of the dome, eukterions, the altar, the pastophorions, the gates, and the narthex have been roofed.
In the near future, specialists at the Gelati Monastery Complex will begin installing a long-term surveillance system in predefined areas in order to observe the influence of environment conditions on the painting of the church.
Through humidity and temperature monitoring sensors, the system observes the impact of macroclimate (the environment outside the temple) on the microclimate (interior of the temple) and the possible impact on the condition of the wall paintings.
The temporary tin roof of Gelati will be maintained until it is completely replaced by tile, the quality of which will be verified by laboratory research and experts.
By this time, the critical areas of the roof will be inspected by specialists, thus the problem of water infiltration in the interior will be completely eliminated, says the agency.