Project status:
Current
Lead organisation:
Oxford University
Partners:
This project is being run by a consortium of three UK universities (Oxford University, the University of Leicester and Durham University) in partnership with local authorities.
Grant award:
Almost £1,000,000
Project summary:
Historic and archaeological assets – including monuments, historic buildings, and historic landscapes – in seven countries across the Middle East and North Africa have been damaged by extreme weather and instability due to climate change. They are currently at risk from conflict, looting and neglect.
The grant has been awarded to enhance local capacity and provide digital tools for heritage professionals in these target countries to protect the heritage at risk.
The Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East & North Africa (EAMENA) database brings together data from satellite imagery and published reports to make available information about archaeological sites and landscapes which are under threat.
Building upon previous transformative work supported by the Cultural Protection Fund, the EAMENA project will work with national NGOs and governments to embed critical skills in the management of these nationally important sites. Heritage professionals will work together to assess damage in order to inform future safeguarding work across the region.
This will result in a more robust EAMENA heritage protection database, capable of rapidly tracking changes to sites and enabling swift intervention to prevent further damage. A conference will bring government officials together to influence policy change at a regional level to ensure the better care of their globally important heritage assets.
