UNEARTHING THE PAST SINCE 1900
UNEARTHING THE PAST SINCE 1900
Ten of ASOR’s Libyan colleagues took part in the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, thanks to support from the U.S. Embassy Libya External Office (LEO). 听This update features a paper by Ms. Intisar Elarebi of the Libyan Department of Antiquities on “Museums in a Suitcase: Recent Successes and Future Prospects.”
This article reports on the final days of a Volunteer Weekend held in Ghadames and the Libyan tradition of shadow puppet shows. In partnership with our Libyan colleagues, and with support from the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), and the U.S. Embassy Libya External Office (LEO), 17吃瓜is bringing a message of hope through Cultural Heritage Volunteer Weekends, such as the one held in Ghadames.
In partnership with our Libyan colleagues, and with support from the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), and the U.S. Embassy Libya External Office (LEO), 17吃瓜is bringing a message of hope through Cultural Heritage Volunteer Weekends. This article reports on the first few days of a Volunteer Weekend held in Ghadames, Libya in March 2020. The first part of the workshop focused on both the incredible built heritage of Ghadames and also on the region’s intangible heritage.
The Jewish Cultural Heritage Initiative (JCHI)鈥攁 joint project of the London-based Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR)鈥攈as completed its initial assessment of present and past Jewish heritage sites in Iraq and Syria. Thanks to the generous sponsorship provided by the Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Family to the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, this work has identified the location and condition of 368 settlements and heritage sites from antiquity to the present day in this once vibrant center of Jewish life.
In partnership with the Ghadames Society for Heritage and Manuscripts, and with the support of the Whiting Foundation and the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, 17吃瓜continues to facilitate the digitization of an important collection of manuscripts within the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ghadames, Libya. These manuscripts serve as records of the the caravan trade which facilitated the flow of religion and scientific concepts, shaping the culture of the entire region.
With funding from the听U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation听(AFCP), the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), and the U.S. Embassy Libya External Office (LEO), ASOR鈥檚 team in Libya hosted a weekend workshop in Nalut, a city in the Nafusa region of western Libya. This article reports on the second part of the workshop, which focused on the intersection of cultural and natural heritage. Participants visited local geological formations and the Nalut Museum of Natural History. See below for a report on the first two days of the workshop.
In mid-March, ASOR’s team in Libya hosted a weekend workshop on cultural heritage protection in Nalut, a city in the Nafusa region of western Libya. This article reports on the first two days of the workshop, made possible by the the听U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation听(AFCP), the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), and the U.S.听Embassy Libya External Office (LEO). Members of the Museum Suitcase team and the Nalut community visited the Qasr Nalut, a fortified granary which served as a central bank for the city and is an important part of the cultural heritage of Nalut.
The Museum in a Suitcase Project in Libya, funded by the U.S. Embassy to Libya, the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), and the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), continues to see great success. At the conclusion of the Cultural Heritage Volunteer Weekend in Nalut in mid-March, ASOR’s Libyan team traveled to Derj Oasis. The people of Derj were eager to take part in the Museum Suitcase Project and this essay reports on the meeting in Derj with ASOR’s Museum Suitcase team.
Prior to the onset of a national lockdown in response to the global pandemic, our colleagues in Libya forged new ground in ASOR鈥檚 ongoing 鈥淢useum in a Suitcase鈥� project. Funded by the U.S. Embassy to Libya, the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP),听and the Cultural Antiquities Task Force, the program鈥檚 popularity has driven the team to devise additional outreach activities familiarizing students of diverse ages with the richness of Libyan cultural heritage. Despite the continued tumultuous state of western Libya, 17吃瓜and our Libyan colleagues continue to foster a sense of shared heritage and the idea that it is the responsibility of the whole community to care for this heritage. This essay reports on a one-day Museum in a Suitcase workshop for students from the Granada School in Tripoli.
In partnership with our Libyan colleagues, and with support from the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)听and the Cultural Antiquities Task Force, 17吃瓜is bringing a message of hope through Cultural Heritage Volunteer Weekends (鈥減op-up鈥� events). The most recent gathering took place over February 11鈥�15 in Sabratha in western Libya. Despite the continued tumultuous state of western Libya, 17吃瓜and our Libyan colleagues continue to foster a sense of shared heritage and the idea that it is the responsibility of the whole community to care for this heritage. This essay reports on the weekend event in Sabratha which included workshops, lectures, site visits, and site maintenance and cleaning.
The Museum Suitcase 鈥渢oolkits鈥� have achieved enormous success in spreading cultural heritage awareness in Benghazi, Sabratha, and Tripoli. The project has now expanded to one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities, Ghadames鈥攍ocated in western Libya, at the intersection of the borders of Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria.
The Need for 鈥淢useums in a suitcase.鈥�听Museums play a dynamic role in the community as places of learning and inspiration, and in spreading cultural heritage awareness. In Libya, the rich collections of more than twenty museums around the country have been largely off-limits to the public since the revolution of 2011.