Project status:

Current

Lead organisation:

National Museums Kenya

Partners:

National Museums Kenya will run this project with international partners including, Chatham University, Technical University of Kenya, Rutgers University, George Washington University, ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) and Kenya Wildlife Service.

Grant award:

£366,241.41

Project summary:

Located near Ileret, on the shores of Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya, is the area known as the ‘cradle of humankind’. It's home to a remarkable set of of 1.5-million-year-old hominin footprints – cultural heritage which is threatened by climate change-driven erosion.

Extreme weather, including strong winds, drought and intense rainfall, must be mitigated against in order to reduce damage to the fossilised footprints.

The grant has been awarded to build a physical canopy to protect the footprints at the site, create a new space to better interpret the heritage and train the local community in heritage management.

The site will have protection against future damage and its importance will be publicised at a new exhibition and community space. Local people could further utilise skills learnt in this project to gain employment in the future.

Team of people surveying fossil footprints
Project team surveying the fossil footprints at Ileret, Kenya. Photo credit: ICCROM