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 BBC 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 BBC World Service
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- Tue 25 Oct 202203:32GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
- Tue 25 Oct 202204:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Tue 25 Oct 202221:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Tue 25 Oct 202222:32GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
- Sun 30 Oct 202202:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
