At least 10 priceless mosaics held in the Hatay Archaeology Museum in Turkey have been badly damaged during a botched restoration, officials and craftsmen have said.
The Roman mosaics, some of which date back to the 2nd century, include world-famous panels depicting the sacrifice of Isaac and another of Narcissus. The relics are held in the Archaeology Museum in Turkey's southern province of Hatay, which houses one of the world's largest collections of mosaics.
Turkish authorities have launched an investigation after reports that mosaics have undergone a restoration that has distorted their features and left them looking markedly different from the originals.
The issue was first raised by mosaic craftsman Mehmet Dakapan, who told a local newspaper: "Valuable pieces from the Roman period have been ruined. They have become caricatures of their former selves. Some are in an especially poor condition and have lost originality and value.
"The panel that I saw could not have been the original mosaic from the 2nd century. Some of its stones are missing, while others have been misplaced, creating a discordant look."
His concerns were echoed by Sefik Çirkin, a local lawmaker from the opposition Nationalist Movement Party, who called the restored work "a massacre of history" and blamed the Islamic-rooted ruling AKP for "a bureaucratic scandal".