Yesterday, Tuesday the 13th of May 2025, the DHRLab team, along with colleagues from the CONNECTING project, the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Coastline initiative, and the Engineer project, came together to undertake the ongoing monitoring of the Enkleistra of Saint Neophytos, Tala, Cyprus.
This complex series of hand-cut caves into a vertical cliff dates back to the 12th century AD and is highly decorated with Byzantine frescoes. The site has been identified as a “monument at risk” due to the deleterious effects of climate change, tourism, and seismic activity. As part of the measures to protect and preserve this unique monument, the UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage at Cyprus University of Technology has committed to a long-term monitoring programme regularly revisiting the site to help identify emerging issues, document changes for conservators and inform policymakers about the protection of the site.
The Enkleistra was a specific case study for the EU-funded ERA Chair Mnemosyne Project, with two digital 3D documentations of the site being made during the project’s duration. The Enkleistra of Saint Neophytos is also the subject of a case study for the EU-funded Digital Europe Programme EUreka3D-XR project, which aims to allow the visitor to directly engage with a virtual representation of Saint Neophytos and be able to ask questions about his life and times and the contemporary issues that cultural heritage can high light.
