India starts restoration of five Bagan pagodas

India Starts Restoration of Five Bagan Pagodas

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started the restoration of five pagodas in Bagan’s ancient cultural zone, the Archaeology and National Museum Department in Bagan said in a statement.

U Soe Soe Lin, deputy director of the department, said the ASI team would carry out emergency maintenance work.

“The restoration would take years,” he said. “Emergency maintenance for integrity will be done this year, and the rest will be done step-by-step after doing research on the structures.”

The ASI will conduct structural maintenance and check the integrity of paintings and concrete floral patterns.

The pagodas being repaired were damaged by the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the area on in 2016. The earthquake damaged several other ancient sites in the country, including in Mrauk-U township in Rakhine State, and Sagaing and Magwe regions, but the Bagan ancient cultural zone suffered damage to 389 ancient buildings.

Four years of rehabilitation work conducted by local and foreign experts repaired and restored 365 pagodas to UNESCO standards.

The Bagan ancient cultural zone was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site last June.


Source: MM Times

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