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Shattered glass of Beirut: The restoration

A journey of collaboration to restore precious artefacts destroyed in an explosion.

On 4 August 2020, a massive explosion destroyed the port of Beirut. It's impact was felt across the city, reaching the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut (AUB). The pressure from the explosion shattered a glass display at the museum holding 74 glass vessels, mainly Roman with a few Byzantine and Islamic.

The team at the AUB collected the shards from the floor, separated them and sent eight of the broken vessels to the UK. And so began the journey of collaboration between Lebanon and England to restore these ancient vessels at the British Museum.

Janay Boulos, a Lebanese 麻豆社 News journalist, follows the journey of restoring these vessels and they become a symbol of Beirut, broken into pieces, scarred, and slowly being restored to its formal glory.

Presented and produced by Janay Boulos
Executive Producer: Rebecca Armstrong for the 麻豆社 World Service

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 30 Oct 2022 02:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 25 Oct 2022 03:32GMT
  • Tue 25 Oct 2022 04:32GMT
  • Tue 25 Oct 2022 21:32GMT
  • Tue 25 Oct 2022 22:32GMT
  • Sun 30 Oct 2022 02:32GMT