Turkey: Roman mosaics 'ruined' in botched restoration

Turkey: Roman mosaics 'ruined' in botched restoration

Mehmet Daskapan says "unforgivable errors" were made during restoration work

A number of valuable Roman mosaics have been badly damaged during botched restoration work at a museum in southern Turkey, it's reported.

An investigation has been launched after concerns were raised by a local craftsman over the condition of at least 10 mosaics at the Hatay Archaeology Museum, the Hurriyet Daily News website reports. Mehmet Daskapan first spoke out in an interview with a local paper in February, but the news was only picked up by mainstream Turkish media on Monday. "Valuable pieces from the Roman period have been ruined," Mr Daskapan told the Antakya Gazetesi website at the time. "They have become caricatures of their former selves. Some are in an especially poor condition and have lost their originality and value."

Before and after photos of the mosaics taken by Mr Daskapan show the "restored" versions look significantly different to the originals. Some stones appear to have been replaced with different colours and shapes, changing the facial expressions of the characters depicted. As a precaution, Turkey's culture ministry has suspended all restoration work at the site, which houses mosaics dating from the 2nd Century to the 6th Century AD. In December, the museum opened a huge new building, and curators are currently in the process of moving artefacts into the space. When the move is complete, it will devote 5,000 sq m (54,000 sq ft) to displaying mosaics.

Turkish media have likened the episode to an elderly Spanish woman's attempt to restore a Jesus Christ fresco in 2012. The finished product, on the wall of a church near Zaragoza, looked nothing like the original image.

Turkey's culture ministry has formed a commission to investigate the apparent damage