Organised by: Ms. M. Smirniou (The British Museum)
MSmirniou@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Location: Sackler Room, Clore Centre, The British Museum.
Time: Wednesday 14th April
Workshop Description:
The safeguarding and preservation of the region's cultural heritage faces various risks and difficulties. Years or even decades of inappropriate storage conditions have resulted in the deterioration of post excavated artefacts, sometimes even beyond recovery. Furthermore, an ongoing turmoil coupled with recent increasing economic and tourist developments have created new challenges and pressures on the region's on-site conservation efforts. The aim of this workshop is to bring together museum and field practitioners and to discuss the conservation issues that specialists working in the Near and Middle East face today. At the end of the workshop we should draw upon the experiences of the experts, develop an understanding of the challenges and start a dialogue among professionals of the region.
- Ancient Near East Sites: Field Conservation in the midst of modern development
- Conservation of living sites
- Heritage Conservation strategy in the Middle East: challenges and issues
- The human impact on archaeological and museum conservation
- Interaction between field conservation and museum labwork
| Time | Name | Paper Title |
|---|---|---|
| 09.45 | Saunders & Drago | Welcome |
| 10.05 | Marii | Sustainability of archaeological conservation laboratories in Jordan |
| 10.35 | Questions/Discussion | |
| 10.45 | COFFEE | COFFEE |
| 11.15 | Skaff | Conservation in the midst of Beirut urban development |
| 11.55 | Demas Agnew | Integrated Planning for the Valley of the Queens in the Context of the Theban Necropolis |
| 12.25 | Questions/Discussion | |
| 12.35 | LUNCH | LUNCH |
| 14.00 | Sweek | Sun, Sand and Several Tonnes of Stone |
| 14.30 | Questions/Discussion | |
| 14.35 | Paterakis | Conservation at Kaman-Kalehoyuk in Turkey |
| 15.05 | Questions/Discussion | |
| 15.10 | Severson | When the digging is over... |
| 15.40 | Questions/Discussion | |
| 15.45 | COFFEE | COFFEE |
| 16.15 - 17.00 | Open Discussion/Closing Remarks |
Workshop Abstracts
Conservation at Kaman-Kalehoyuk in Turkey
Ms Alice Boccia Paterakis (Director of Conservation, Kaman-Kalehoyuk Excavation, Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology Turkey)
The excavation of Kaman-Kalehöyük commenced in 1986 by the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology under the auspices of the Middle Eastern Cultural Center in Japan. Located approximately 104 km southeast of Ankara, the site is a city mound or 'tel' of approximately 280 meters in diameter and 16 meters in height. The site lies along the ancient Silk Road trade route and represents three main cultural levels: Islamic, Iron Age (Phrygian), and Bronze Age (Hittite Empire, Old Hittite and Assyrian Colony period). The excavation provides a rare glimpse into the life of a rural settlement in Anatolia between the early Bronze age (2300 BC) and the end of the Ottoman period (17th c). The archaeological goals include 1) the establishment of a chronology of the 2nd to 1st millenium BC habitation in Central Anatolia and 2) an assessment of the affects of political and social changes on the agricultural economy. Research is at an early stage and depends on several more decades of excavation for compilation of a comprehensive understanding of the history of the site and surrounding region. Conservation has been an active element of the excavation since 1986 contributing to the successful collaboration today between conservators, archaeologists, and related specialists at Kaman-Kalehöyük. The conservation department consists of four main components: 1) active field conservation; 2) treatment of artifacts in the conservation laboratory; 3) research and education; 4) condition surveys. Conservators participate frequently in the field aiding the archaeologists in the consolidation and lifting of fragile artifacts. Conservators oversee packing techniques required for the successful transport of artifacts to the conservation laboratory located 2 km from the site and between the storage areas and the museum. Research involves material characterization (identification), technical studies (technology of manufacture), the annual conservation student internship program, and student projects that focus on conservation materials and methods for a particular material group in the collection. Condition surveys of the collection are carried out both in-house (2 km from the site) and off-site in the Kirşehir Museum (40 km from the excavation). Conservation assists the archaeologists and the other specialists at Kaman-Kalehöyük including archaeometallurgists, zooarchaeologists, osteoarchaeologists, archaeobotanists, and geoarchaeologists in the retrieval of maximum information from the objects by carrying out material characterization examinations, technical studies, sampling procedures for analysis, non-invasive and reversible conservation treatments, and preventive conservation measures for long-term preservation. The excavation infrastructure is moving into a newly constructed center that includes a new conservation laboratory and new storage rooms. A museum is being constructed next to the new center which will house the most important artifacts from the Kaman-Kalehöyük excavation, currently housed in the Kirşehir Museum, and those yet to be discovered.
Integrated Planning for the Valley of the Queens in the Context of the Theban Necropolis
Dr Martha Neville Demas Agnew (Getty Conservation Institute)
The Theban Necropolis on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, attracting millions of visitors and over 40 archaeological missions annually. The income derived from the tourism industry is an important pillar of the Egyptian economy, but mass tourism with its attendant development, as well as ongoing archaeological excavation, and agricultural expansion from the burgeoning local population, are seriously impacting the preservation of archaeological sites on the West Bank. Absent an integrated plan and a comprehensive strategy for the management and conservation of these sites–one that can reconcile the inherent conflicts and return to the sites ticket revenues adequate for their protection–the tombs and monuments are progressively deteriorating. The challenges are daunting yet there is movement and greater awareness among all parties of the need for a systematic approach. This paper discusses the Getty Conservation Institute’s collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities to assess, document, plan and implement a comprehensive program for one of the major West Bank sites--the Valley of the Queens with its 100 tombs from the 18th- 20th dynasties and other site elements from the pharaonic, Roman, and Coptic eras. The objective is to contribute through the project, and by networking with other missions at annual coordination meetings, to an overall integrated conservation and management framework for the West Bank. Among the major components of the project are visitor management and infrastructure, site interpretation, new lighting, ventilation and protection systems in visited tombs (which includes the tomb of Nefertari conserved by the GCI between 1986-92), encouraging Egyptian visitation, SCA staff training, new laser scan topographic mapping for flood control, a site GIS, conservation of the remnant wall paintings in 23 chamber tombs, and geotechnical stabilization of tombs in danger of collapse. Scheduled for completion in 2012, the project will endeavour to address sustainability issues as ultimately these will define success over the long term.
mdemas@getty.edu
nagnew@getty.edu
Sustainability of archaeological conservation laboratories in Jordan
Dr Fatma Marii (Senior Conservator, Jordan Museum)
Attention for archaeological conservation in Jordan started only in the 1990’s. Since then, several challenges appeared that are facing this field. Participating in various field and museum conservation works, I found that three main sources need to be organized and brought together to be able to sustain the archaeological conservation field in this region.
- Human sources: several universities in Jordan are teaching archaeological conservation, for example at the Hashemite University and Yarmouk University. These universities are offering only theoretical background to students without any practical training. On the other hand, during some archaeological excavations, some of the participating archaeologists and workmen were found to have manual and artistic abilities for conservation work. These persons were mostly trained by international conservators and learnt the required skills for practical conservation, but without any or with little theoretical background.
- Laboratories: Several donations were offered to different institutions in Jordan for establishing conservation laboratories. One of these laboratories is at the American Centre of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, and another conservation/analytical laboratory at the Department of Antiquity (DoA) in Petra. There are small laboratory units at the DoA in Amman and Irbid and at Yarmouk University. Most of these laboratories are lacking specialists who can run the instruments provided, therefore these labs are almost abandoned nowadays.
- Material supplies: There is no one single local supplier in Jordan who can provide all conservation supplies. Most required materials, equipments, tools and chemicals are brought from different sources. Moreover, many materials are not available locally and need to be imported from abroad. Importing these materials is always disturbed by the rules and regulations of the different institutions, which delay the processing of the conservation works.
When the digging is over...
Mr Kent Severson (Senior Field Conservator, Aphrodisias Excavations)
Archaeological exploration of a site in the Near East typically yields large quantities of artifacts in a variety of materials. When the digging is over and the team has left, the artifacts remain behind and must be cared for. This presentation will take a brief look at practical long-term preservation measures for several classes of materials, focusing on artifacts that do not find their way into the storage depots of the local museum and must be stored on-site, as well as on structures in situ. Long-term threats in such conditions include theft, biological attack (both micro- and macro-), weathering, and stresses brought on by visitors. Topics to be presented include techniques for stabilization and maintenance of standing structures in dimension stone, petit appareil and mudbrick, cleaning routines and reburial practices, with an emphasis on economical, sustainable systems that do not break the bank. The presentation will be illustrated primarily with case studies from the long-running Harvard/Cornell Sardis Expedition and New York University’s Aphrodisias Excavations in south western Turkey, but will include examples from other sites as well.
Conservation in the midst of Beirut urban development
Ms Isabelle Skaff (Private Conservator, former head of the Conservation Laboratory at the National Museum of Lebanon)
Three decades of political uncertainty in the Lebanon have had a negative impact on the management of the nation's cultural heritage. A great effort in that direction was undertaken with the re-opening of the Beirut's National Museum and its storage rooms in the 1990's. The main actual concern is however the large program of reconstruction and urban development that is taking place in Beirut. In this context, emergency archaeological excavations are being conducted in haste and under pressure from developers and although this resulted in the unearthing of a great deal of finds, it also resulted in their conservation in inadequate storage conditions as well as the swift lifting of archaeological structures in a restricted period of time. Conservators are faced with a great deal of challenges in often difficult situations as means are very limited. It is the absence of a coherent cultural preservation policy that remains the major challenge for the Lebanese archaeological heritage.
Sun, Sand and Several Tonnes of Stone
Ms Tracey Sweek (Expert Conservator, United Kingdom)
Dangeil is a small village just south of the fifth Nile cataract in Sudan, it is currently the site of an archaeological excavation of an Amun Temple under the directorship of Dr. Salah Mohamed Ahmed and Julie Anderson. The Berber-Abidiya Archaeological Project is a joint project with the Sudan National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), Khartoum and is part of the British Museum’s international training initiative. The excavation started in 2005 and in 2007 I was invited by Julie Anderson to assess and explore the options for the long term preservation of this site. In 2008, a preliminary eight day visit was organised to the site in Dangeil to initiate a number of trials to various aspects of the architectural fabric. The materials used in the construction of the temple include mud brick, fired brick, lime plaster and sandstone. Principally the needs of the site are: its long term future; the materials used in maintaining it do not confuse the archaeology; are sympathetic to the original materials but foremost can be resourced locally; and the work can be continued and executed by the local work force. The first trials in 2008 of selected areas included fired brick, lime plaster and sandstone. In the first trials a number of protective measures were introduced to the upper exposed walls and floors using lime as a building and capping mortar whilst training local workmen in the use of lime. The 2009 season allowed for a visit to site for a two week period, this presented an opportunity to assess the previous year’s work and to offer a number of modifications to the present practice with further test trial areas.