ASTANA – Imagine restoring a thousand-year-old door in a centuries-old mausoleum, a feeling as if you are touching the past. In an interview with The Astana Times, Elina Altynbekova, Kazakhstan’s prominent conservation and restoration specialist, shares what it takes to breathe life back into fragile artifacts, a process she likens to a detective story, where every detail is a clue to the past.
Elina AltynbekovaShe is part of the Almaty-based Ostrov Krym scientific restoration laboratory, founded by her father, Krym Altynbekov, one of Kazakhstan’s most renowned restorers and archaeologists. Photo credit: Altynbekova’s Instagram page
Elina Altynbekova is known for her meticulous work with ancient artifacts and archaeological findings, including high-profile projects such as the Urzhar Priestess, a noblewoman from the fourth to third centuries BC, and the restoration of the door from the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi mausoleum, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Below is a Q&A with Elina Altynbekova.
Q: Elina, could you share with us what influenced your choice of profession?
My family had the most considerable influence on the choice of profession. From a young age, our parents took us to museums and exhibitions, and instilled in us a love for books. We also often visited our dad at work, where we saw ancient artifacts with our own eyes, watched how they slowly revealed their secrets, and even took part in the process ourselves. My grandmother was an incredible storyteller who knew a million topics, drawing my sister and me into legends and real stories of the past. Over time, these ancient objects came to mean much more to me than just their physical form. They became witnesses to the past, through which we can reliably uncover certain aspects. I wanted to be part of studying and preserving them, but even more, I fell in love with the process of unraveling ancient mysteries.
Krym Altynbekov is well-known for the reconstruction of the famous Golden Man, a Saka warrior discovered in the Issyk burial mound, which has become a national symbol of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is home to unique burial mounds and heritage items from the Saka era and the Silk Road. In your view, how does your work help reshape the way we understand our place on the historical map?
Restoration is a way of looking into a past that has left behind only the faintest traces of itself. However, it is through restoration that we can see real objects and understand real events that took place in ancient times. In a sense, it is a vaccine of pride for your country and your region. Cultures have always evolved, mixed, and transformed, but one thing is certain: they were always rich. We see that clearly when we work with ancient artifacts. And only by preserving these items as witnesses of the past can we look to the future with confidence.
Q: Your team recently completed the restoration of a door from the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum in Turkistan. What was the most challenging part of this project, and what technologies helped you along the way?
It was a very long and complex project, far more so than we initially anticipated. The door had stood in place for over 600 years and was in constant use throughout that time. It was opened and closed, washed and scrubbed, leaned on and repeatedly repaired.
The base of the door is made of walnut, while the inlay features a wide range of materials. It includes bone, tin, and several types of wood. Among them are two species of African ebony, far eastern maple, and even a gold imitation.
After restoration, the door was returned to Turkistan and is now on display at the Museum of Rare Exhibits of the Azret Sultan National Historical and Cultural Reserve. Photo credit: Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information
Years of active use, exposure to the elements, fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and time itself had all taken a toll on the door. Its organic base, wood, had warped over time, with misaligned curves and numerous deep cracks. Much of the inlay had fallen out and was filled in with an unknown type of putty. It took us an enormous amount of time and effort to study all these details.
We needed to look inside this object without destroying it. X-rays can illuminate an object, revealing its density and the location of inlay and other features. Because the door had been in place for over 600 years, some inlay was simply not visible under layers of grease and dirt. In addition, the X-rays revealed something that no one expected or knew about before.
X-ray analysis revealed that the door had been infested with termite colonies. It had been literally eaten away from the inside. The long tunnels carved out by the termites were clearly visible on the X-ray, yet completely invisible from the outside. We were able to spot one of these tunnels with the naked eye during the inspection. Later, we decided to fill the voids and seal the termite nests using a restoration compound. To do this, we used an injection method with syringes fitted with the thinnest pediatric needles, inserting them directly into existing cracks to avoid creating new ones. The X-ray also gave us precise insight into where inlay pieces were hidden beneath layers of putty. Thanks to that, we didn’t lose a single fragment, not even the smallest piece, of the original inlay.
In addition to analyzing the materials used in the door and its inlay, we also turned to the Institute of Nuclear Physics, where neutron tomography is performed at a nuclear reactor. This method, which uses neutrons, allows us to look inside even metallic objects that X-rays usually do not penetrate well enough. With the help of the reactor and specialists from the institute, we were able to assess the condition of the metal panels framing the door. This study allowed us to choose the most appropriate conservation methodology.
Q: Which restoration project has been the most challenging for you, whether technically or emotionally, in your career?
It is very difficult to say which restoration has been the most challenging, because beyond the complexity, the process itself is incredibly engaging and fascinating, so much so that you forget the difficulties along the way. In many ways, it feels like a detective story, where we become the main characters, trying to unravel the mysteries of the past.
Restoration and conservation entail a meticulous process. Photo credit: Ostrov Krym Laboratory’s Instagram page
From a technical standpoint, the most difficult restoration is when dealing with complexes, conglomerates, consisting of several different materials. The point is that different materials require different approaches, different techniques, and different restoration compounds. When these elements are separate, choosing the right method isn’t too difficult. But more often, they are found together, as in the case of the burial site of the Urzhar Priestess. There you have soil, bone, fabric, metal, wood, and much more. So the challenge is to find the most appropriate method. In some cases, it is possible to restore each component separately and then reassemble the entire complex — but that’s not always feasible.
Q: What connects the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi mausoleum, the Urzhar Priestess, and the ancient settlement of Kulan? Would you say that all these places share an invisible cultural code?
Of course, it is not obvious at all. But there is indeed something in common between these very different objects. Since ancient times, people have admired and been inspired by what surrounds them – nature, the sun, stars, flowers and plants, animals and birds. And nomads are no exception. Blooming plants have always been a symbol of life and at the same time the transience of existence – rebirth and beauty. And this symbol is present in all three monuments. At the Urzhar Priestess, it is an image of a fern; in Kulan, it is numerous plant patterns; and on the door of the tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, there are beautiful flowers, including those very similar to tulips. Interestingly, there are a lot of tulips growing in that very area.
The Urzhar Priestess is a remarkable archaeological discovery from the Saka period, made in 2013 in the Urzhar district of East Kazakhstan. It is believed to date back to the 4th or 3rd century BC. Photo Credit: Ostrov Krym Laboratory’s Instagram page
Q: When working with such artifacts, how do you decide what exactly to restore and how to do it in a way that preserves authenticity?
There are a few most essential principles in restoration. One is to do no harm. The second is to add nothing of your own. That is, we have to preserve the authenticity and the originality of objects. Even if we know for sure that a particular detail was once in this place – that this is how the inlay was continued and this is the pattern that was most likely there before – we have no right to recreate it on the original object. This is how we preserve authenticity.
When it comes to restoration techniques, there are a lot of characteristics, nuances, and factors that must be considered when choosing the correct method. Much depends on the material the object is made of, but just as much depends on the environment in which it was found. If it were in soil, for example, we need to consider the moisture level, whether it was acidic or alkaline, how the item was excavated, how it was transported, and what else might have been done to it. All of these factors greatly affect the condition of the object. From there, we try to determine the outcome we aim for. The methodology develops gradually. Quite often, we need to adapt existing techniques or create entirely new ones.
Q: What is the protocol when working with artifacts that are too damaged to be fully restored? How do you explain the importance of restoration to those who think, ‘why restore the old when you can just build something new?
Unfortunately, it is pretty common for artifacts to be too damaged for complete restoration. Often, we are left with only fragments — tiny pieces, or sometimes just traces of the object. But even then, it is incredibly important to preserve what has come down to us. We never know if something similar might be discovered in the future, and if it is, and it’s more complete, it could offer a new perspective on what was nearly lost. Sometimes we can only reconstruct the general outline of an item; other times, just a few small parts. But all of it, every fragment, is a piece of our shared ancient history
Q: How developed is the field of restoration in Kazakhstan today? What challenges do restoration specialists most often face?
Right now, we are seeing more and more people entering the field of restoration. Unfortunately, there is still no dedicated institution in Kazakhstan that trains specialists in the restoration of archaeological artifacts. There was an attempt to start such a program at the Zhurgenov Academy of Arts, but this kind of work really requires longer training. That said, we have plans to launch training programs for both beginner and advanced restorers. We may even partner with a university to make it happen — but for now, that’s still a secret.
