The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, has announced its collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, for the development of a comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the World Heritage sites of Nea Paphos and the Tombs of the Kings to guide their future preservation and enhance their full range of values, both cultural and natural.
According to a press statement by the Press and Information Office, the collaboration, which begun in 2018, involves mapping of the sites, assessments of significance, condition of mosaics and architectural remains, and the management context, including visitor management, and interpretation and presentation of the sites, followed by the development of key responses to the main conservation and management challenges.
One of the principle challenges is protection and presentation of the exceptional mosaics and other significant features of the site of Nea Paphos; to this end, a meeting focused on sheltering these important archaeological remains is currently being held (2nd – 6th of April 2019).
The meeting brings together an international group of specialists, from various fields of expertise, including architecture, engineering, environmental monitoring, hydrology, and experience with shelters in other World Heritage sites, to work with heritage professionals from the Department of Antiquities and the Getty Conservation Institute.
The objective is to examine all factors that should be taken into account for the design and implementation of sheltering, ranging from the need to protect the archaeological remains, consider the natural values and environmental context, ensure the preservation of the mosaics, and enhance the interpretation, presentation, and visitor experience. The meeting is taking place on site, for an in-depth understanding of the context, the values and the challenges inherent in the process of shelter-design.
The site of Nea Paphos is the most visited archaeological site in Cyprus, and provides a unique natural landscape and cultural attraction. All activities undertaken in the framework of the Conservation and Management Plan, including this meeting on protective shelters, are ultimately aimed at preserving the values of Paphos – artistic, historic, social and natural – and communicating them to the local community and to visitors from around the world.
(Cyprus News Agency)
