Marzia MERLONGHI
(University of Udine, Italy)
Keywords: Heritage, Conflict, Database, GIS, Levant
Abstract:
The situation of instability in the Near East creates the problem of the security and protection of cultural heritage respecting the international conventions and the laws concerning the conservation and fruition of cultural property in each State.
Although the problem is very well known in the international community and there are often articles in specialized papers, a uniform and coherent report on damage from the start of the new century and about the causes of decay directly and indirectly due to political instability is still missing.
The possibility of creating an on-line database with as much information as possible about sites, documenting the extent of the damage with photos, maps and a comparison with existing archaeological documentation, where possible, will be an important element in understanding types and causes of damage and will give a chance to prevent them.
In this regard, a preliminary database regarding archaeological heritage of southern Levant (Palestine and Israel), was created using GIS programs. The data were collected during my PhD project about damage to pre-classical sites in Palestine and Israel due to the israeli-palestinian conflict.
By clicking on a specifical site in an interactive map, in the database, one can read the following information: Name, Geographical references, date of the survey, presence of regular excavations/restorations, type of damage, date of damage, link to a folder with pictures of the place.
The goal of the project is the creation of an online open source program updated by all the scholars who, in their work, come across damage to the archaeological heritage of the area and (why not?), in all the Near East.