Conservation work at Debra Tsion Church

Situated in the region of Tigray, Debra Tsion church is a monastic cliff church, hewn from the rock around 1400 by the monk Abraham and his disciples. The main body of the church consists of four bays with decorated domed roofs supported by pillars and walls covered in paintings of figures from the New Testament painted in the years shortly after the church was built. 80% of them, covering more than 500m² of walls, pillars and ceiling can still be seen today. They are one of the only two ensembles of 14th to 15th century murals still in existence in Ethiopia.

This artistic masterpiece is of great cultural and economic importance. Due to water infiltration, the top layer of rock and the plaster have disintegrated in many places.
The decay of the paintings has been rapid and we have had to work fast to stop further disintegration.

In 2011, Jean-Remi Brigand returned to Debra Tsion and spent several months stabilising the frescos.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is now building a museum to house church treasures which will include the magnificent ceremonial fan that the charity worked on in 2007.