Van eind oktober tot midden december werkt dr. Aurelie Daems (vakgroep Kunst-, muziek- en theaterwetenschappen, postgraduaat Erfgoed en samenleving) opnieuw in Irak op vraag van het British Museum, Getty Foundation en het Iraakse State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.

Ze gaat er aan de slag i.h.k.v. het onderzoeksproject en erfgoedprogramma The Girsu Project.

The Girsu Project

“The Girsu Project is a comprehensive programme of high-level field training and onsite management of a world-class heritage site. It aims to train Iraqi archaeologists and conservators in rescue excavation. The project also aims to document, investigate, and raise awareness, both locally and internationally, of the exceptional richness of Girsu – one of the world’s first cities. It provides a unique opportunity of developing an inclusive model of best practice for other heritage sites in the Middle East.”

©British Museum: The Girsu Project.

 

The project will:

• Reinterpret the ancient city of Girsu through new fieldwork and re-examination of older discoveries.
• Provide capacity-building training to Iraqi archaeologists, conservators and university students as part of the research excavations, demonstrating innovative methods, new technologies and best practice to trainees to support current and future archaeological projects across Iraq.
• Undertake new excavations and re-excavate areas inadequately recorded before 1933. This will provide an opportunity to re-contextualise museum objects originating from these buildings and ensure proper documentation and conservation.
• Looting is also a major problem at the site, which the project addresses through the forensic excavation of robber holes to help establish the provenance of stolen objects from the site.
• Document all material uncovered at Girsu between 1877 and 1933, now dispersed in collections around the world, to re-contextualise collecting histories and re-evaluate objects newly excavated at the site.
• Produce comprehensive topographical and geophysical mapping, scanning and 3D modelling of the site complemented by programmes of non-invasive geoarchaeological fieldwork that reconstruct the ancient environmental setting and its hinterland.
• Result in the publication of seminal books and other contributions to the history and archaeology of Girsu and the Sumerian world.
• Prepare the site to welcome visitors with the installation of information panels and signposts, and increase digital accessibility to the site. 

Meer weten

https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/projects/girsu-project

• Contact: