#heritage conservation

Remembering,

Khaled al-Asaad 'Mr Palmyra'

Cause of death : Decapitation

In May 2015, modern Palmyra and the adjacent ancient city came under the control of the Islamic State. Al-Asaad helped evacuate the city museum prior to the Islamic State's takeover, but was himself captured by the terrorist organisation. The Islamic State then tortured al-Asaad in an attempt to discover the location of the ancient artifacts that he helped hide. He was murdered in Palmyra on 18 August 2015 at the age of eighty-three.

The New York Times reported:

After detaining him for weeks, the jihadists dragged him on Tuesday to a public square where a masked swordsman cut off his head in front of a crowd, Mr. Asaad's relatives said. His blood-soaked body was then suspended with red twine by its wrists from a traffic light, his head resting on the ground between his feet, his glasses still on, according to a photo distributed on social media by Islamic State supporters.

In February 2021, Syrian state sources reported the discovery of al-Asaad's body in the countryside 10 km east of Palmyra.[22]

Along with al-Asaad, Qassem Abdullah Yehya, the deputy director of the DGAM Laboratories, also protected the Palmyra site, and was murdered by the Islamic State while on duty on 12 August 2015. He was thirty-seven years old

"he had a degree in history from Damascus University, he had no formal training in archaeology - all his knowledge in this field was self-taught."

"When you look at Palmyra today as an archaeological site, really that's the legacy of Khaled al-Asaad," Mr Azm says.

Here, you can read about the antiquties of Palmyra

This is the source I found so far, with details and colored pictures about his work and legacy

In this world, preservation of ancient architecture buildings/monuments, artifacts, antiques and archaeology is increasing at faster pace. Specifically, the places which hold some artistic or heritage value needs extra care as well as conservation with highly accurate technology like 3D temple scanning and comprehensive documentation on regular basis, to secure its original value.

The laser scanner like Faro provides immensely easy and useful way to accurately survey and document the spatial information of heritage sites and share it via different mediums like Internet

Introduction UNESCO World Heritage Status is one of the highest international recognitions a cultural or natural site can receive. It is awarded to places considered to have Outstanding Universal Value, meaning they are so important that they deserve protection for the benefit of all humanity. From ancient ruins and breathtaking national parks to historic cities and natural wonders, UNESCO…

सदियों से, भारत के प्राचीन बरगद के पेड़ों की उम्र काफी हद तक लोककथाओं, स्थानीय किंवदंतियों और ऐतिहासिक अभिलेखों का विषय रही है। अब, वैज्ञानिकों ने पहली बार रेडियोकार्बन विश्लेषण का उपयोग करके सटीक रूप से दिनांकित किया है। बिहार के मुंगेर में लगभग 700 वर्ष पुराने एक बरगद के पेड़ की पहचान रेडियोकार्बन डेटिंग का उपयोग करके सबसे पुराने सटीक तिथि वाले बरगद के पेड़ के रूप में की गई है। (प्रतिनिधि…

People always ask the same question. How do you choose them. Three buildings restored and a fourth one we are still debating and the answer has never been the same twice.

The first one was simple. It was down the road. A 1930s house with porthole windows boarded up and a garden that had not been touched in years. I drove past it every day and one morning I just stopped the car and looked at it properly. Behind the boards you could see the original curves of the facade. The bones were good. I rang the agent that afternoon.

Daniel thought I was mad. He came around to it when we pulled up the carpet and found the original terrazzo underneath. That was the moment he understood what I had been trying to explain. These buildings have layers. You peel back what people have done to them over the decades and underneath there is something beautiful waiting.

Mum and Dad came on board for that first one. Dad did the joinery and painting. Mum did the sanding and kept everyone on schedule which is the hardest job of all. Jess came in at the end and did the curtains and soft furnishings. All period appropriate. All sourced or made to match the original decade. That is what makes the difference between a renovation and a restoration. The details have to be right.

The second building was different. Nobody was selling it. It was just sitting there. An old apartment block with Deco detailing on the facade that was crumbling. I wrote to the owner. Then I wrote again. Then Daniel and I drove out there and knocked on the door. It took six months to convince them to sell. But when we got inside and saw the original plasterwork on the ceilings we knew it was worth the wait.

The third one found us. Someone who had seen what we do on our site sent a message saying there was a building in a regional town that was about to be demolished. We drove three hours to look at it. Bought it within the week. That one nearly broke us. The roof was worse than it looked. The costs went over. Daniel and I had some long conversations about whether we had taken on too much. But we finished it. And it is probably the one I am most proud of.

Now there is a cinema. An Art Deco cinema in a small town that has been closed for years. The facade is stunning. Geometric patterns above the entrance. The original signage still bolted to the wall. Inside it is a mess but the proportions are extraordinary.

The question is what to do with it. Restoring it as a cinema would be incredible but running a cinema is a completely different thing to restoring a building. We are not in the business of operating venues. We find them and we fix them and then we decide whether to keep or sell.

Daniel wants to restore it and lease it to someone who knows how to run a cinema. Mum thinks we should turn it into a community space. Dad just wants to see the ceiling. Jess has already started looking at fabric samples which tells me she has made up her mind regardless of what the rest of us decide.

I do not know yet. But I know we will probably do it. That is how it works with us. We see something worth saving and we cannot walk away from it. The decision has never really been about money or logic. It has always been about whether the building deserves another chance.

Dubai Ruler Honours Suad Al-Amri at Great Arab Minds / Image: File In a landmark moment for architecture and cultural heritage, Dr. Suad (also spelled Souad) Al-Amri, a Palestinian architect and heritage conservationist, has been honored with the Great Arab Minds Award in the Architecture & Design category for 2025. Presented by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime…

१२ पराक्रम स्थळे युनेस्कोच्या व्यासपीठावर महाराष्ट्र हा केवळ सह्याद्रीच्या कड्याकपारींनी नटलेला प्रदेश नाही, तर तो इतिहासाचा, पराक्रमाचा आणि स्वराज्याच्या महान संकल्पनेचा साक्षीदार आहे. छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांच्या पदस्पर्शाने पावन झालेली गडकिल्ल्यांची शृंखला आजही त्यांच्या शौर्याच्या कथा सांगत उभी आहे. अशा १२ ऐतिहासिक किल्ल्यांना युनेस्को या जागतिक संस्थेच्या जागतिक वारसा स्थळ मानांकनाची शिफारस …