Palmyra treasures restored after ISIS hammer attack

Two sculptures from the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, disfigured by ISIS fighters armed with hammers, have been painstakingly repaired by Italian restoration experts.

The funerary busts of a man and a woman were among a trove of artifacts spirited out of Palmyra by Khalid al-As’ad, the site’s head of antiquities, in an attempt to save them from complete destruction as ISIS terrorists occupied the region in 2015.

Al-As’ad’s refusal to reveal where he had hidden the priceless carvings cost the 82-year-old university professor his life: he was publicly beheaded by militants in the city’s main square in August 2015.

Damaged by ISIS militants in Palmyra, the sculptures were taken to Italy to be repaired.

Italy’s former minister of culture, Francesco Rutelli, organized the transportation of the two statues from Damascus, via Beirut, to Rome, where experts set to work restoring them.

The busts, which date back to the second and third century, had been on display between October to December with replicas of other damaged artifacts from Syria and Iraq in a UNESCO-sponsored exhibition at Rome’s Coliseum.

ISIS destroys Palmyra’s Arch of Triumph

3-D printed repair work

“Italy wanted to maintain the request of the martyr of Palmyra, Khaled al-As’ad, who refused to collaborate with terrorists,” Rutelli said.

Now head of the cultural heritage organization Meeting of Civilizations Association, Rutelli said ISIS had “ravaged [Palmyra’s] museums with the purpose to destroy.”

The ancient carvings were repaired using nylon powder and a 3-D printer.

Antonio Iaccarino, from Equilibrarte, the organization which carried out the repairs with Rome’s Central Restoration Institute, explained the new techniques used in the work.

“In the past, in a restoration process like this one, the entire damaged area would have been removed and reconstructed. In our case, we did not modify the original part of the sculpture in any way,” he said.

ISIS militants armed with hammers left the priceless statues severely damaged.

Reassembled elements of the statue were created by mirroring the artifact using nylon powder and then stamping them with a 3-D printer, Iaccarino said.

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‘Erasing the act of violence’

“When I saw the destruction for the first time, I was hit with such distress,” said Daria Montemaggiori, another of the restorers.

“You could see the wickedness to eliminate, erase the human image. Seeing this, I was emotionally charged. The work of restoration allows us to erase the act of violence.”

ISIS has brought destruction to Palmyra – one of Syria’s most important historic sites – since it took control of the oasis city in 2015. Many of the city’s irreplaceable monuments and antiquities have been razed.

Before: The ruins of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin are seen in Palmyra, Syria, in 2007. The ISIS militant group took over the ancient city last year and razed parts of its World Heritage Site. Syrian government forces recaptured the ancient city from the terror group in March 2016. Click through to see the landmarks before and after ISIS' occupation.

After: A Syrian government soldier walks near what's left of the Temple of Baalshamin on Sunday, March 27. Syrian forces retook the city days before, but damage had already been done by ISIS. UNESCO says it plans to evaluate the extent of Palmyra's damage soon. Many of the structures -- which date from the first and second centuries and marry Greco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences -- remain in place, bolstering hopes that ISIS didn't completely raze the world heritage site.

Before: The Arch of Triumph in 2006.

After: The Arch of Triumph on March 27.

Before: The Temple of Bel in 2008.

After: The Temple of Bel on March 27.

Destroyed statues are seen inside the damaged Palmyra Museum on March 27.

Many statues in the museum had their faces chipped off -- in keeping with strict Sharia interpretations of the depiction of human forms.

Before ISIS invaded, authorities took what they could from the museum. But larger items and those fixed to walls had to be left behind.

Destroyed statues inside the Palmyra Museum.

The Syrian directorate-general of antiquities and monuments was positive that the condition of artifacts meant that they could be restored and their "historic value" returned, according to a translation of an article on the department's website.

ISIS took over Palmyra in May.

By June, ISIS began destroying historical sites.

Damage inside the Palmyra Museum.

Palmyra was a caravan oasis when Romans overtook it in the mid-first century. In the centuries that followed, the area "stood at the crossroads of several civilizations" with its art and architecture mixing Greek, Roman and Persian influences, according to UNESCO.

How ISIS ravaged Palmyra's world treasures

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Just days ago, Russia’s Defense Ministry warned that “an upsurge in truck movement” in Palmyra indicated that ISIS is planning on using “explosives to deal maximum damage to the remaining architectural relics before they leave.”

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Risky salvage operation

Faced with losing more precious artifacts at the ancient site, the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of Damascus has undertaken a risky salvage operation with the help of Rutelli in Italy.

“It is the mobilization the world needs to defend and save cultural heritage against the fundamentalist ideas of ISIS,” said Maamoun Abdulkarim, director-general of antiquities and museums of Syria.

“Our work in Syria as archeologists is scientific and not political, because the war in Syria will finish and the politics will change, but the heritage must remain as a memory of all Syrian people, this is a project of peace.”

The restored busts will eventually be taken back to Syria to be returned to Palmyra when it is safe.

Palmyra: Which ancient treasures did ISIS destroy?

Having completed their mission in this particular case, Rutelli said the plan is to one day return the salvaged sculptures to their rightful places in Palmyra.

“The sculptures will be brought back to Damascus, eventually, they will return to Palmyra when it is safe,” he said.

“These are the only pieces of art that have left the conflict areas of Syria and Iraq legally,” he said. “But they left with the purpose to be restored and then returned to their origin.”