World Monuments Fund and Getty Conservation Institute Training Course Held in Jordan is Completed

GCI-WMF Iraq Cultural Heritage Conservation Initiative completed the first training course entirely dedicated to the inventory and rapid assessment of archaeological and historic sites of Iraq, and to the delivery of, and training in the compilation of the first module of the database that will manage the site inventory at the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) of Iraq. The course was provided to 16 employees of the SBAH and was held in Amman, Jordan, from November 19 to December 19 on the premises of the UNESCO office in Amman, and of ACOR (the American Center of Oriental Research). Field work was conducted on the Amman Citadel and other historic and archaeological sites in the Amman area, thanks to the generous assistance of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. In the wake of the relentless, and continuing, looting of Iraqi archaeological sites, the GCI – WMF – SBAH decided to focus training on techniques, methodologies, and tools for accurately locating sites, recording their condition, and developing a national computer-based register or inventory.