Experts, students volunteer to save historical artifacts from rubble

In a bid to save the historical heritage of the quake-hit provinces, experts and volunteer students are carrying out strenuous efforts to recover historical artifacts that got trapped under the rubble during the devastating quakes last month.

The quakes that struck 11 provinces in Türkiye's south, including Hatay, claimed the lives of more than 46,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings.

In addition to the buildings, historical mosques, hammams and fountains were also heavily affected.

To recover the historical legacies of the past, Culture and Tourism Ministry took action and formed a committee.

This committee established a unit to work on the inventory of the qualified materials in the heavily damaged historical buildings in some provinces and districts, especially in Hatay, and to form a basis for restoration.

The unit started its work under the leadership of Associate Professor Dr. Muhammet Arslan, the head of the Department of Art History at Kafkas University.

With this unit, the practice of "post-quake debris archaeology" was initiated for the first time in Türkiye.

Experts are saving the historical artifacts they manage to find under the rubble with meticulous work and take them under protection, as if they have been found for the first time.

Experts working in the field enter slightly damaged buildings themselves while removing historical artifacts from the rubble.

However, a special team will come to Hatay to find artifacts in heavily damaged buildings.

The team will take preliminary measures to prevent the buildings from falling on the experts working in the field.

"Not only our people but also our cities and cultural assets were victims of the...