A digital inventory of all Iraqi archaeological sites

[grassfed]

Towards developing a digital inventory of all Iraqi archaeological sites and historical buildings

UNESCO Iraq Office, in close collaboration with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) organized a workshop on the “Middle Eastern Geo-database for Antiquities - MEGA". The workshop was held in Cairo during 8-11 February 2010 to introduce the Middle East Geo Database for Antiquities, a tool that helps determine conservation priorities.

From 8-11 February 2010 in Cairo, UNESCO Iraq Office, in close collaboration with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) organized a workshop on the “Middle Eastern Geo-database for Antiquities” for Iraqi delegation consisting of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and representative from the Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism of Kurdistan. The primary objective of the workshop was to introduce Iraqi partners to the Middle East Geo Database for Antiquities, tool for recording data, documentation and assessing archaeological sites and historical buildings to better determine conservation priorities.

In 2004, the Getty Conservation Institute and World Monuments Fund, with the support of the UNESCO Iraq Office, agreed to develop a database with the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) to build national capacity to manage Iraqi cultural heritage. This innovative system has actually been under development for several years but owing to prevailing security concerns in the country at the time, the initial work for the database was carried out in Jordan with the kind cooperation of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DOA).

MEGA Jordan now, having been successfully developed and tested, was presented in Cairo to Iraqi counterparts in order to launch the planning process of Mega Iraq. After two days of successful meetings, it was agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed to move towards the operational phase of the Mega Iraq application.

UNESCO’s support for the development of a national inventory follows one of the key recommendations of the International Coordination Committee for the Safeguarding the Cultural Heritage of Iraq held in Paris on 12-13 January 2010, namely: "To encourage the development of the national computerized inventory of all archaeological sites and historical buildings based on the existing national registry collected by the SBAH and using available surveys".

http://www.unesco.org/en/iraq-office/single-view/news/unesco_supports_efforts_of_the_state_board_of_antiquities_and_heritage_and_the_ministry_of_culture_o/back/9623/cHash/f5f88fd9dd/