Wall paintings in St. Nicholas Museum being touched up

Within the scope of a restoration and landscaping project implemented by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the wall paintings that were previously unearthed in the St. Nicholas Museum in the southern province of Antalya's Demre district are getting a retouch.

New murals from the 11th century were also unearthed during the work at the museum.

The St. Nicholas Museum is one of the holy places of the Orthodox world. Under the supervision of the Demre Lycian Civilizations Museum Directorate, a team of three people, headed by conservation specialist Uğur Yalçınkaya, scientific analyzes of the original materials that make up the wall paintings and the repair of its damaged parts are being carried out with advanced techniques.

"We got information about the materials used in the making of medieval paintings and the methods of their production. The repairs made in the past were also examined. Inspections were made to detect the distortions in the paintings. For the documentation of the paintings, imaging techniques such as UV photography, side light shots and orthophoto were used. All the wall paintings were examined closely and digitized. According to the information we obtained, the wall paintings were made with a method called 'Secco' [painting on dry plaster], using mineral pigments on lime-based plasters in the Middle Ages," Yalçınkaya said.

Stating that the deterioration of the wall paintings and their causes were also found during their studies, Yalçınkaya said, "We determined that the preservation of these paintings depends on the preservation of the structure they are in. With a new roof to be built after the restoration works, the reinforcement of the museum structure and the underground and rainwater drainage system, the paintings...