UZBEKISTAN - KAFIR KALA
Within the framework of our Task 3 “Contributions of cultural heritage to an economically and socially sustainable future,” an interdisciplinary research team of 7 geographers and anthropologists from UNIBO visited – between May 17th and June 11th 2022 – the region of Samarkand in Uzbekistan and undertook a Heritage Value Assessment (Task 3.a) in the landscape around the archaeological site of Kafir Kala, in the modern villages of Naizatepa and Nayman in the Samarkand and Tailok districts. Their work, based on the community-based participatory research method, focused on the interaction with the local communities and institutions at every level, to understand their behaviour and relation with the historical landscape and heritage of Samarkand.
The KALAM team, coordinated on the field by Ass.Prof. Roberta Bonetti, Ass.Prof. Andrea Zinzani and Dr. Licia Proserpio with the support of Ass.Prof. Simone Mantellini, relied on applied research and adopts social-environmental research methods, such as interviews, focus groups, participatory immersion and ethnography. The primary aim was to initiate a process of direct involvement of the local community living the Kafir Kala archaeological landscape, starting from the available community-level main institutions, such as villages local administrations (mahalla) and schools. The interaction with civil society, from adults to youth, led to the recording of local knowledge, values, narratives and legends connected to the tangible archaeological landscape heritage.
With this spirit, around 30 interviews were conducted among local, national and international institutions, farmers, shepherds, children, workers, archaeologists, PhD students, teachers and pupils and community leaders of the targeted villages. This work allowed to understand the common familiarity of the local inhabitants with the ancient site and its related features, such as irrigation canals.
Finally, the collaboration with local and international institutions operating in the region, such as the Samarkand Institute of Archaeology, the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan and UNESCO IICAS, led to strengthened relations between them and to a raised interest for the formalisation of policies about the creation of the Kafir Kala Archaeological Park (included within Task 3.b), starting from the definition of the core and buffer areas in and around the site.
Fig. 1. With its massive citadel dominating the surrounding contryside, the archaeological complex of Kafir Kala is one of the largest and most important sites in the Samarkand Oasis and along the "Silk Road".
Fig. 2. An interdisciplinary research team of archaeologists, conservators, geographers and anthropologists worked on the site and in the surrounding countryside.
Fig. 3. The archaeological landscape of Kafir Kala includes a network of small and large modern communities which live in direct, constant contact with the ancient site.
Fig. 4. Working at Kafir Kala means interacting with multiple, different actors who have been in constant contact with the site and its historical landscape for centuries.
Fig. 5. Based on the fieldwork performed within the communities around Kafir Kala, the KALAM team have tried to define the multiple actors involved, in order to better frame outcomes and recipients of the results.
Fig. 6. The archaeological area of Kafir Kala features the regular presence of farmers and shepherds with their herds, together with occasional visits of teachers and students from the local schools.
Fig. 7. The KALAM team performed around 30 interviews among different actors related to the site, from the local, national and international institutions to the community leaders in the area, allowing to define and understand their level of interaction with the ancient landscape.
Fig. 8. The cooperation with the national and international institutions has been instrumental to implement the KALAM tasks, for instance to define the extension of the Kafir Kala Archaeological Park (Image courtesy of IICAS, UNESCO, Samarkand).
IRAQ - NINEVEH
Within the framework of our Task 3 “Contributions of cultural heritage to an economically and socially sustainable future,” a research team including an archaeologist and an anthropologist from UOM performed in September 2022 a Heritage Value Assessment (Task 3.a) in the archaeological area of Nineveh and the modern neighbourhoods surrrounding the site. The work aimed at understanding the relation and knowledge of the Mosul communities toward the archaeological remains.
The team, coordinated by Prof. Khalid Salim Ismael, defined three main target groups based on their level of involvement with the site: the residents living around the site or in one of the illegal villages in the area of al-Rahmaniyah, the heritage operators of the local SBAH branch and the administrative staff and officials in charge of the promotion of tourism and culture at Mosul.
Around 60 interviews (20 for each group) were conducted, trying to understand the perspective of the different target groups on the matter of preservation and protection of ancient Nineveh.
IRAQ - NINEVEH
Within the framework of Task 3.b “Thematic museum halls and visitors’ centers”, a KALAM team including archaeologists and personnel from UOM and UNIBO in cooperation with SBAH defined the area within ancient Nineveh for the creation of the forthcoming Nineveh Visitors’ Center: preliminary work started in July 2022, with the selection of an archaeologically void area in the northern sector of the site. The construction of the Visitors’ Center has followed traditional Iraqi building methods, with the employ of sustainable and traditional materials (mudbricks, mud plaster, gypsum and, only for the foundation layer, stone, strictly avoiding the use of cement): the aim has been to minimize the impact on the site and the archaeological and environmental landscape, as well as designing a building aesthetically and functionally valid. The construction works continued throughout the following months, until the completion of the complex by Autumn 2023: the main building has been equipped with a welcome desk space and wooden furniture, while panels on the walls illustrate the history and archaeology of Nineveh. The access to the structure is provided by a walkway made of baked mudbricks while a front yard has been arranged with local plant species. The whole complex, completed by a double restroom for tourists' use and surrounded by a metallic fence, was then inaugurated during the opening of the Archaeological Park of Nineveh on October 24th 2023.
Fig. 1. The location of the Visitors' Center of Nineveh was selected to be functional to the tourist paths crossing the site and for its proximity to visible landmarks.
Fig. 2. Low impact and sustainability have been key elements in the planning and early realisation of the Visitors' Center.
Fig. 3. The architecture of the Visitors' Center features stylistic patterns and elements (such as pointed arches) which can be found in ancient Assyrian palaces as in several buildings of Medieval and Modern Mosul.
Fig. 4. Local scholars, students and workers have been included in the planning and construction phases, forstering the collaboration among the different communities around Nineveh.
Fig. 5. Mudbrick architecture, attested since the dawn of urbanisation in ancient Mesopotamia, is still recurrent nowadays for traditional constructions all over Iraq.
Fig. 6. To achieve a higher durability and to present an uniform appearance, the inner and outer wall surfaces have been covered with mud plaster.
Fig. 7. The covering has been completed with wooden pools sustaining a intertwined straw roof, which has been covered with mud plaster on the outer side.
Fig. 8. The creation of the Visitors' Center represents a further reason for the recovery and improvement of the Nineveh landscape, integrating ancient and more recent structures.
Fig. 9. Facilities (such as external lights, drainpipes, airducts) have been added to make the Visitors' Center a confortable hub for local people to gather throughout the different seasons of the year.
Fig. 10. The furnishing of the interior of the Visitors' Center will include all is required to make it a gathering place for both the local communities and the future groups of tourists.
UZBEKISTAN - KAFIR KALA
The field actitives occured in the Samarkand countryside between May and June 2022 also included preliminary operations for the construction of the Kafir Kala Visitors' Center. Within the framework of Task 3.b “Thematic museum halls and visitors’ centers”, non-invasive investigations were undertaken in the area at the entrance of the site, identified as suitable for its construction: the geophysical survey, done by the International Institute for Central Asian Studies – IICAS, UNESCO, did not reveal any anthropic underground evidence. The subsequent survey by the UIAP team confirmed the lack of any archaeological feature in that sector, hence making feasible the construction of touristic facilities.
Fig. 1. The Visitors' Center at Kafir Kala will be located at the entrance of the site, where recent excavations have uncovered the presence of a necropolis (right) dating to the Middle Ages (Drone acquisition by IICAS, UNESCO).
Fig. 2. A non-invasive geophysical survey has been performed by IICAS, UNESCO in the area chosen for the construction for the Visitors' Center.
UZBEKISTAN - PASHKHURT
Between May 30th and June 8th 2023, a LMU team carried out a one-week trip to Uzbekistan in order to finalize the planning for the community center in Pashkhurt (Surkhandarya province). After discussions with local authorities, an exhibition on the regions pre-historical and early historical development will be hosted in the local School no. 33 in the centre of the modern village. An older exhibition hall and community centre had been demolished to make room for the school’s expansion.
Previously, an ethnographic collection was hosted in 60 m2 room of School no. 33 until 2014. The school's directorate is already planning to re-establish this exhibition, with the materials hosted also in Termez Regional Museum: this event represents a fortunate coincidence, as it allows the development of a constructive synergy between the KALAM aims and the local initiative, thus allowing to integrate the project's agenda with an artefact-oriented display whose completion has to rely on local support and action.
The renewed exhibition from KALAM will therefore focus on the scientific investigations in the Pashkhurt region, with informative panels on the walls conveying the available knowledge on the pre-modern occupation. Moreover, researchers which have been active over the past 20 years in Pashkhurt and its region have been contacted and asked to submit short summaries of their work and relevant imagery. A main part of the exhibition will be dedicated to archaeological methods and the basic principles of cultural heritage protection: the aim is to encourage the local residents to reflect on, safeguard, and actively manage the historical evidence of their region. The preparation of the informative panels will be finalised by April 2024, while the creation and installation is scheduled for September 2024.
IRAQ - AFAK
Preliminary negotiations in April 2022 led to define the location of the Visitors' Center of Afak, in Qadisiyah Governorate. Approval and full support by the local Qaimaqam (Deputy Governor), whom is also the owner of the terrain where the structure will be built, led to the definition of a plan of the Center: after some negotiations, a plot near the public library in the city center of Afak has been selected, in order to achieved a better integration with the surrounding area and a higher engagement with the public. The construction is planned to be completed by 2025.
A prototype of the mobile app for the documentation of the endangered sites and landscapes in Iraq has been developed: based on Epicollect5 (a free and easy-to-use mobile data-gathering platform), it is now available for both Android and iOS mobiles, it allows the recording of archaeological sites, their features and, in particular, the evident damages through textual descriptions and images (as photos taken with the mobile). The LMU team in charge of the development completed the English version and has already tested the prototype on the field in Iraq in April 2022. Meetings have been held in 2023 with the national direction of the SBAH to discuss on a permanent collaboration in order to implement the app as a standard tool for their personel in each regional inspectorate. For this purpose, an Arabic translation for the app is under way, thus enabling to reach the second testing phase with the Arabic-speaking communities.
The mobile app allows to record multiple information about the archaeological sites or landscapes, from distinctive features to potential threats and damages.
The interface has been created to be user-friendly: data entry is possible through preset responses and it is possible to upload photos of the recorded features.
Coming in 2025!