AIA-1A: Current Events and Heritage Protection: Efforts to Document and Protect Culture at Risk (Workshop)

Organizers

Brian I. Daniels, University of Pennsylvania Museum; and Katharyn Hanson, Smithsonian Institution

Panelists

Deniz Cil, University of Maryland; Madeleine Gunter Bassett, Virginia Museum of Natural History; Katharyn Hanson, Smithsonian Institution; Thomas Bender, University of Pennsylvania; Vasyl Rozkho, Ukraine Heritage Monitoring Lab; and Salam Al-Quntar, Rutgers University

Description

Current events have amply demonstrated that archaeological sites and historic structures that compose the cultural landscape of the Mediterranean and beyond are at risk from violence, disasters, and neglect. Site looting and cultural destruction in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan continues, and there is a need for grounded discussions about these events among the academic community. Tragically, the present situation threatens to overtake even the most conscientious efforts of archaeologists, museum curators, and conservators to be responsible stewards of global heritage. This forum will provide an opportunity to update colleagues about issues related to cultural heritage, to explore current protection interventions in crisis areas, and to have a dialogue about current events. Brief reports will include such topics as the documentation of targeted cultural heritage sites in Ukraine and Sudan, new efforts to conduct site damage analysis and undertake site restoration in Iraq and Syria, and museum sector support for the preservation of collections and institutions under threat. The final speaker list will reflect events as they unfold in October 2023, in order to provide forum workshop attendees with the most up-to-date information.