Project partners

• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)
• Directorate General of Antiquities, Lebanon
• Maronite Archdiocese of Jbeil (Byblos), Lebanon

Financial partners

• Leventis Foundation, Cyprus
• Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, United States
• Philippe Jabre Foundation

Project implementation team

• Conservation Sarl, Lebanon: Isabelle Skaf , Badr Gedeon, and Ghada Salem, Nathalie Hanna, Giorgio Capriotti, Caterina Michelini Tocci, Silvia Tribolati

Project management

• Conservation Sarl., Lebanon: Isabelle Skaf
• ICCROM’s ATHAR Programme: Zaki Aslan, and Rahel W. Mikael

Project Description and Significance
The church of Mar Tadros (St. Theodore) was listed as a historic monument in Lebanon in 1966. Built in the eleventh century, it is located on the top of a hill at around 550 meters above sea level in the case of Jbeil (Byblos). The church is the property of the Archdiocese of Jbeil (Byblos), but its preservation is the responsibility of the Directorate General of Antiquities.

Represented in the paintings are scenes from the Old and New Testaments: the Apocalyptic vision with the Enthroned Christ; Cherubim and Seraphim; the four Evangelists; the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist; the twelve Apostles and Evangelists with the figure of one prophet; the figure of Christ; the sun and the moon; the sacrifice of Isaac and a scene of Moses receiving the tablets of the Law; the figure of St Theodore and a donor; and the figure of St George represented with a donor.

Several ancient churches and rock caves in Lebanon contain wall decorations and paintings dating as far back as the classical and Byzantine periods. These belong to the period of Christian resurgence at the time of the Crusades (11th – 12th A.D.) and are examples of what remain of a rich and continuing tradition of Christian church paintings.

The paintings were first restored in the 1920s by applying several coats of varnish. Over the years similar attempts to enhance colours and details have only resulted in further obscuring the surface of the paintings. Lacunae were also filled with cement and painted over.

Aim
The aim of this ATHAR field project is to carry out a scientific study of the frescoes through documentation and analysis and to ensure their conservation by consolidation, stabilization and cleaning. When the project is completed, visitors and worshipers will, for the first time, be allowed to rediscover these highly important paintings which have been neglected for many years. A publication describing the different phases of the conservation project in the light of new photographs will also be produced at a later stage.

Achievement/impact

1. Conservation treatment of frescoes has been underway since 2009. The project consists of photographic and graphic documentation, condition assessment and intervention (consolidation and cleaning) on the paintings. Other tasks have included: condition survey (monitoring of climatic environment and applying measures to solve humidity problems of the building), and mortar and pigment sampling and analysis.
2. The conservation work on the wall paintings of Behdaidat has been a follow-up to the ATHAR course in Lebanon conducted in 2005, during which participants were trained to conduct condition assessment of the mural paintings. Two former ATHAR participants have been engaged in this work, thus ensuring the continuity of training efforts applied in actual conservation work.

updated on: 14 February, 2011