Gelati Monastery

• General need for interior and exterior conservation work on the monuments
• Construction of the visitor centre outside the Gelati Monastery
• Major reconstruction of the structure of Bagrati Cathedral (completed)
• Insufficient coordination between the Georgian Church and the national authorities (issue resolved)
• Lack of co-ordinated management system (issue resolved)
• Water (rain and groundwater)

Irreversible interventions as part of major reconstruction of the structure of Bagrati Cathedral

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4196

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4196

N/A

On 28 February 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/710/documents/. A joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission visited the property in November-December 2022 (mission report available at the above-mentioned web address). In its report, the State Party addresses a number of issues highlighted by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

• The State Party has taken urgent wide-ranging steps to investigate and address the failure of the roofs of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and St George’s Church installed in 2015-2018. The failure of the roofs has led to moisture ingress and associated decay of the historic murals inside these churches. Several extensive specialist reports were appended to the State Party’s report, outlining the following:
  • Five international expert missions visited the property between June and November 2021. Two of the mission reports were reviewed by ICOMOS, which concluded that the approaches were sound,
  • In-depth destructive investigations and laboratory studies have been undertaken. The expert studies conclude that caution is required in developing, testing and implementing conservation activities,
  • A microclimate study highlights that slow natural drying would be the most beneficial to the conservation of the murals inside the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin,
  • The murals will be continuously monitored. Conservation work has stabilized and secured the pictorial cycle in the western arm of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin,
  • A technical design for a new roofing system, which will consider historical and architectural aspects, is progressing for both churches. It will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before implementation;
• Micro-climate monitoring is continuing and the existing system has been augmented;
• Periodic three-dimensional structural monitoring is being undertaken;
• The World Heritage Protection Council was reconstituted in February 2022;
• The State Party acknowledges the need to update the Management Plan but does not report any progress in this regard.

On 3 March 2022, the World Heritage Centre transmitted to the State Party third-party information raising concerns regarding insufficient involvement of heritage professionals in decision-making processes, insufficient availability of information for professionals and the civil society as well as poor management and problematic conservation activities regarding the murals. These issues were subsequently assessed by the Advisory mission.

The November-December 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission to the property recommended that immediate actions should focus solely on emergency treatments of the affected mural paintings, which should be kept to the necessary minimum and undertaken using materials compatible with the original, while limiting the addition of water. Further conservation work on the murals should be delayed until emergency interventions have been completed, the wall paintings have reached a stable condition and a longer-term conservation plan for the murals has been developed and be guided by an updated Conservation Master Plan.

On 31 March 2023, the State Party informed the World Heritage Centre that the Patriarchate of Georgia had accepted the State’s offer to lead the works related to the wall paintings and roof of the churches of Gelati, as well as the stone conservation and other interventions needed to improve the state of conservation of the property.

The State Party has taken welcome and quick action in addressing the deficiencies regarding the roofs installed in 2015-2018, which led to moisture ingress and associated decay of the historic murals inside the Main Church. Its commitment of resources and expertise and engagement of international experts are commendable. This commitment has resulted in valuable conclusions regarding the causes of accelerated decay, which provide a solid basis for further interventions. Restoring the roofs, conserving the murals inside the churches and addressing other conservation issues that also affect the murals, such as rising damp, will call for large financial resources over a long period.

It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to continue the programme to redress the conservation challenges at the property following the recommendations of the Advisory mission and to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, documentation on further emergency interventions and longer-term conservation strategy and measures, as well as relevant technical material, prior to implementation.

Constant monitoring of the condition of the wall paintings – those that are yet to be treated as well as those on which emergency interventions have taken place – is important to remedy the decay caused by moisture ingress on the murals. Monitoring should be accompanied by detailed mapping of the existing state of conservation and the pathology of all the wall paintings and mosaics. All future conservation works should be continuously documented.

Two temporary installations are fundamental to the programme of redressing the conservation challenges of the Main Church: extending a secure scaffolding structure to all areas of the church and placing a protective cover over the entire monument to provide optimum conditions for further necessary interventions on the roofs and masonry of the building.

Physical conservation research and measures have taken preference over the updating of the Management Plan. Yet a longer-term holistic conservation programme, with Conservation Master Plan and road map for the property, and an updated Management Plan are of utmost importance in ensuring that all further interventions, including conservation of the wall paintings, are guided by a well-informed and comprehensive vision for the property’s future.

While the assistance of foreign experts has been beneficial to the State Party’s efforts in the emergency response phase, it is recommended that more Georgian experts be involved in further conservation efforts at Gelati.

The state of conservation of this property has dramatically altered since the last Reactive Monitoring mission to this property (2012), including the near-complete failure of the previous restoration project, with substantial negative consequences. In view of the conservation challenges faced, including the fragility of the murals in the churches, and the difficulties encountered in the overall management of the property, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite a Reactive Monitoring mission to the property during 2024 to assess the appropriateness of the conservation efforts undertaken, the development and implementation of the holistic conservation programme, the updating of the Management Plan, the steps undertaken to improve the Management System, and the overall state of conservation of this property.