Babylon is a site of special importance for the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) and a priority for work in conservation and site management. The SBAH is currently working in collaboration with WMF to address a range of issues at the site, most pressingly the documentation and conservation of mud-brick architecture. The SBAH and WMF are also working on the establishment of site boundaries, treatment of modern structures and reconstructions, scope for education and training, provision for future research, local economic impact, and site presentation. This lecture will discuss the project, its aims, and some of the challenges faced at the site.

Speakers

Michael Seymour is Project Curator for Early Mesopotamia at the British Museum, and was co-curator of the Museum’s 2008-9 Babylon exhibition. He is Archaeological Consultant to WMF at Babylon, advising particularly on the history of excavation and social history relating to the site.

Alessandra Peruzzetto is WMF's Archaeology Advisor for the Middle East. She studied in Torino and Paris and specializes in Middle Eastern archaeology. She has excavated in Iraq and Turkmenistan. In Jordan she worked for the Institut Français du Proche Orient and the Petra National Trust to coordinate a conservation strategy training project for Petra.