Protecting the Past 3: Documentation as a Tool for Heritage Protection

Emhemed Gerjebo talks about their group's projects in the final part on the second day of the conference; Training projects in Heritage documentation: challenges and first results: Libya.

Dawoud Husayn talks about their group's projects in the final part on the second day of the conference; Training projects in Heritage documentation: challenges and first results: Libya.

Tarek Teka talks about their group's projects in the final part on the second day of the conference; Training projects in Heritage documentation: challenges and first results: Libya.

Lamia Fersi talks about their group's projects in the final part on the first day of the conference; Training projects in Heritage documentation: challenges and first results - Tunisia.

Sonia Slim gives a talk her group's projects in the final part on the first day of the conference; Training projects in Heritage documentation: challenges and first results - Tunisia. The use of satellite imagery in the management of cultural heritage in urban settings

Khansa Hannachi talks about his group's projects in the final part on the first day of the conference; Training projects in Heritage documentation: challenges and first results - Tunisia. New technologies at the service of heritage. Example: EAMENA Project. How to document and protect our heritage?

Chaired by Hafed Walda, discussants; Saleh Abdalha (DoA, Libya), Paul Bennett (Canterbury Trust), Abdulaati Lamin Lamin (DoA, Libya), Mohamed Fakroun (DoA, Libya), Susan Kane (Oberlin), Mustafa Turjman (DoA, Libya)

Hayet Guettat-Guermazi (Director of Culture, ALECSO) gives a talk for the first panel in the third day of the conference.

Andres Acosta and Soroush Khanlou (GHF) give a talk for the first panel in the third day of the conference, Protecting the past: identifying problems and solutions. AMAL in Heritage is a programme for managing disaster and conflict risks for cultural heritage through a combination of digital tools, training, planning, and community development. Through user-friendly mobile and web applications and a participatory design process with local partners in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, AMAL builds capacity for both heritage professionals and laypeople to respond to cultural crises proactively. AMAL’s applications are designed for the rapid impact assessment of damaged heritage heritage places, buildings, or artifacts. By collecting data in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, AMAL preserves crucial information that can be used to repair or reconstruct damaged heritage. AMAL in Heritage aims to develop a community of trained and vigilant conservators equipped with cutting-edge, cost-effective digital tools for the better management and protection of cultural heritage. AMAL in Heritage was launched by GHF in partnership with Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage, ICCROM, ICOMOS Risk Preparedness Committee, and Prince Claus Fund. During this session, GHF Product Design Director and the app developer will present the Amal iOS and Android apps. They will discuss design decisions and considerations when building a modern mobile-first platform for data capture in the field.

Salima Naji and Youssef Bokbot (Institut National des Sciences de l'Archeologie et du Patrimoine, Morocco) give a talk for the first panel on the third day of the conference; Protecting the past: identifying problems and solutions. Moroccan archaeological heritage despite its richness and great diversity, lives under the permanent constraint of destruction and disappearance. This phenomenon of dilapidation of archaeological sites and movable objects has seen in recent decades, a catastrophic upsurge in the Saharan and Pre-Saharan areas. This phenomenon, which began timidly in the 70s of the last century, galloped from the 80s, to cause irreversible damage, especially in rock art sites, pre-Islamic and protohistoric tombs tombs, as well as prehistoric objects . With the major structural projects currently underway in Morocco, in terms of road, rail and port infrastructure, solar energy and wind farms, the degree of danger that has archaeological heritage has reached scandalous proportions, under the pretext that do not block the development of the country. We are personally confronted with this problem on many occasions, so much so that we are forced to act in a personal capacity. At our conference, we will present specific cases of what may be called militant archeology, which have sometimes led to the winning of a case, stopping the damage inflicted on the patrimony and sometimes even the application of safeguard and conservation measures.

Fathi Mohamed AlAbeedi (Department of Antiquities, Libya) gives a talk for the second panel on the second day of the conference.

Feryal Sharfeddin (Department of Antiquities, Libya) gives a talk in the second panel of the second day of the conference. The Department of Antiquities possesses valuable quantities of historical documents stored in archives dated back from the beginning of the last century and still in use nowadays. The documents, estimated to be around 100 thousand pieces, includes: photographs, maps and reports, priceless publications mainly concentrated on the Department of Antiquities headquarters at the Castle Assaraya El-Hamra. Unfortunately this important heritage have suffered from severe neglect during the previous regime and continues to suffer to this day due to the current post-revolution crisis. All of these reasons affect the deterioration of the state of archives as they are under the threat of damage and loss. This have encouraged the people in charge to start an attempt to documentate the materials and looking for the necessary support to save this priceless cultural and scientific wealth through the establishment of a modern environment. The Red Castle houses a notable quantity of documents that require a wide range of interventions: from the Reconditioning, Sanitising, Restoration, Cataloguing, and Digitization to the provision of online and offline Consultation. The castle itself is in need of essential interventions in order to respect the security norms for the conservation of historical documents. The paper will give an idea about the DOA digitizing processes in both cartographic and photo archives as an important first step to preserve and documented their heritage.

Vincent Michel (Universite de Poitiers) gives a talk for the second panel of the second day of the conference. Six years after the fall of Colonel Gaddafi, what assessment can we make of the situation of the cultural heritage in Libya? This country is full of archaeological treasures as well in the south, in the heart of the Akakous desert, in the East in Cyrenaica and in the west in Tripolitania. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Byzantines, mingling with a Libyan population, have continually left their mark, modifying both the urban and rural landscape! Libya is this famous country of North Africa but whose archaeological heritage has remained almost unknown on the contrary! This international ignorance and this local ignorance have favored the preservation of this rich Libyan heritage. What was the impact of the 2011 revolution on heritage? The finding is positive compared to the situation in Iraq or Syria; the sites have been preserved and museum collections hermetically saved. Nevertheless, this situation changes considerably nowadays. It is now that the worst occurs with a lack of authority, allowing to steal, destroy or vandalize with impunity; the Libyan soil, because of a galloping and uncontrolled urbanism, is strongly threatened, remains sacked, leading to the scattering of objects and denaturing archaeological sites. We are witnessing the proliferation of clandestine excavations, repeated attacks by extremist groups, and especially illicit and targeted trafficking in cultural property. What actions can be proposed to preserve this local heritage that belongs to humanity, how to fight effectively against destruction and looting and all threats to the Libyan heritage. It is therefore a three-part presentation that I propose to mention at this symposium in order to show the whole singularity of Libya: (1) before the Arab Spring, (2) at the heart of the Revolution of 2011 and (3) the current period.

David Mattingly (EAMENA, University of Leicester), gives a talk in the first panel of the second day of the conference, The challenges and opportunities for protecting the past in Libya. This presentation will focus on the work to date of the EAMENA team in relation to threats to the heritage of North African countries. Case studies illustrating the work of EAMENA show the range of the work, from initial site identification and mapping, to recording and monitoring threats and damage remotely, to direct interventions with national antiquities agencies and on the ground action. The importance of collaborative working and the sharing of information are highlighted, along with the need to build capacity ion this sort of work in all the Maghrebian countries.

Hanan Abdalrahaman Benshkban (Department of Antiquities, Libya) and Saleh Abdalha (Department of Antiquities, Libya) give a talk for the first panel on the second day, The challenges and opportunities for protecting the past in Libya.

Amhimmid Ammarah Ammar Mousay (Department of Antiquities of Libya) gives a talk for the first panel in the second day The challenges and opportunities for protecting the past in Libya. About how to protect the cultural heritage during the peace and armed conflict taking as an example the steps of protection which were taken in Sabratha ruins during the both times with concentration on the mosaics panels at air open areas. In addition, the contribution talks about the of the archaeological items kept in museums and stores.

Yasser Jrad (INP) gives their presentation in the third panel of the conference. English title: The role of the National Heritage Institute in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property: current situation and challenges

Naouel Selmi (INP) gives a talk for the third panel of the conference. The challenges and opportunities for protecting the past in Tunisia. English title: The National Computerized Map of Archaeological Sites and Historical Monuments: A Strategic Project.

Robert Bewley (Director, EAMENA) gives a speech in the second panel of the conference: Setting the scene. The Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project is a collaboration between the Universities of Oxford, Leicester and Durham; funded since 2015 by the Arcadia Fund and more recently the Cultural Protection Fund. This paper explores the development of the EAMENA project, its aims and objectives in recording archaeological sites and assessing disturbances and threats across the MENA region and will highlight some of the initial results.

Mohamed Ould Khattar (UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Arab States Unit) gives a speech in the second panel of the conference; Setting the Scene.

Zaki Aslan (Director, ICCROM-ATHAR Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah) gives a talk in the second panel of the conference: Setting the Scene.

Andrea Zerbini (Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa, EAMENA) gives a brief introduction on the aims of Protecting the Past.

Nada Hosking (Director of Programs and Partnerships, Global Heritage Fund, GHF), gives the second keynote speech of the conference.