Cyan Magenta Yellow Black PART FOUR Managing Sites with Mosaics TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” X H:11” 200L 115g EX Gold East M/A Magenta(S) EX Gold East M/A 115g 200L X H:11” TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” 137 TJ14-3 P137-178 200L CTP.indd 137 3/3/08 2:06:42 PPMM Cyan Magenta Yellow Black TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” X H:11” 200L 115g EX Gold East M/A Magenta(S) EX Gold East M/A 115g 200L X H:11” TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” 138 138 TJ14-3 P137-178 200L CTP.indd 138 3/3/08 2:06:45 PPMM Black Conservation and Preservation of Mosaics in Syria: The Case for a Multidisciplinary Approach— or New Strategies for Old Problems Amr Nawar Al Muayyad Al-Azm Abstract: Syria is a repository for a phenomenal catalogue and Byzantine-period mosaic pavements in Syria, which come of cultural heritage that includes a unique and rich corpus of from public buildings, churches, and private houses. Although mosaics. Yet today this corpus presents daunting challenges— some can still be seen in situ, many more have been lift ed and an entrenched policy of mosaic removal rather than in situ even more still lie safely buried and undisturbed in the ground. preservation, poor storage conditions, out-of-date conservation Of those that have been lift ed, only a few are on public view in techniques, and limited record keeping—for which traditional museums; most are in storerooms awaiting conservation. Th is methods are not always viable. Several new projects have been corpus presents a daunting challenge in terms of conservation initiated that include local awareness-raising to encourage in and preservation, in a country where traditional, tried and situ preservation and the use of databases for the recording of tested methods are not always viable. both new mosaic fi nds and those on display and in storage. Th is Th erefore, it is of vital importance that the management approach will provide a better understanding of the underlying of mosaics and archaeological sites rich with mosaic fl oors problems and more eff ective means to deal with them. become part of a common strategy of cooperation between the institutional partners and local stakeholders. One of the Résumé : La Syrie renferme un patrimoine culturel phénomé- hoped-for outcomes of the programs outlined in this paper is to nal comprenant un riche corpus de mosaïques qui aujourd’hui present the General Department of Antiquities and Museums se trouve confronté à des défi s considérables – une politique pré- (DGAM) with a new strategic approach aimed at improving conisant la dépose des mosaïques plutôt que leur préservation the integrated management of the mosaic corpus in Syria as in situ, des mauvaises conditions de stockage, des techniques well as the sites where they are discovered. de conservation dépassées, peu d’enregistrement de données In a paper presented at the conference on mosaics con- – contre lesquels les méthodes traditionnelles ne sont pas tou- servation held in 2003 at Piazza Armerina in Sicily, I outlined jours appropriées. Plusieurs projets ont été lancés notamment some of the problems related to the management and pres- pour encourager la préservation in situ et l’utilisation de bases ervation of mosaics in Syria (Al-Azm 2004). One of these is de données pour enregistrer les nouvelles découvertes ainsi que that the treatment of choice for the majority of new mosaic les mosaïques exposées et en réserve. Cette approche permettra discoveries is removal. Th e main reason for this is the lack of une meilleure connaissance des problèmes et des moyens plus available resources to provide physical protection in the form effi caces pour les résoudre. of a structure to protect mosaics from the elements or a guard to prevent theft or vandalism. Furthermore, as a result of this Syria is a repository for a phenomenal catalogue of cultural policy, over a period of forty to fi ft y years Syria has acquired a heritage, which is the product of a long history of interaction backlog of untreated mosaics amounting to a recently revised with its neighbors and the region as a whole. An important fi gure in excess of 6000 square meters and growing, as new part of this heritage is a unique and rich corpus of mosaics. discoveries are made every year. Until very recently the most Th ere are literally thousands of square meters of Classical- common method of mosaics management in Syria was still 139 TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” X H:11” 200L 115g EX Gold East M/A Magenta(S) EX Gold East M/A 115g 200L X H:11” TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” 139 TJ14-3 P137-178 200L CTP.indd 139 3/3/08 2:06:45 PPMM Black 140 Lessons Learned: Refl ecting on the Th eory and Practice of Mosaic Conservation removal rather than preservation in situ, and the majority of typical products related to the history and culture of the area these mosaics continue to be stored in very poor conditions or region as a means of sustainable development; (2) raising similar to those described in 2003 (fi g. 1). awareness about the positive eff ects of business and employ- Since mosaics represent one of the main assets of Roman ment opportunities related to cultural heritage; (3) training and Byzantine archaeological sites in Syria, particularly due and capacity building in both the public and private sectors to their intrinsic historical and artistic value, it is crucial to regarding the preservation, management, marketing, and pro- tackle immediately and eff ectively the problems of continuing motion of cultural heritage, both objects and sites; and (4) removal, poor storage conditions, and inappropriate conserva- increasing cooperation both among the various institutional tion methods. Th e approach being proposed here is a multi- partners and with the local stakeholders. disciplinary one based on a strategy that concentrates on the To achieve these aims, the following projects are being concept of integrated heritage management. It is only through implemented in Syria today: such an integrated management system that these problems may begin to be resolved in a sustainable manner that will • Recruitment and training of local mosaic eventually permit on-site preservation. Sustainability is criti- conservators. cal to the success of any proposed programs and can only be • Participation in national and regional training achieved through the tapping of the sites and their local com- workshops. munities for their full potential in terms of socioeconomic • Improvement of storage conditions. development. • Banning the use of reinforced cement. For this reason, the approach aims to involve local • Purchasing and using new and more appropriate stakeholders and professionals at all levels. It is hoped that, in materials. addition to providing a better understanding of the causes of • Encouraging in situ preservation. these underlying problems and more eff ective means of deal- • Encouraging local stakeholder participation and ing with them, a national strategy may be put in place and education. implemented. Ultimately, for any such national strategy to • Encouraging and supporting local business initiatives succeed it will need to incorporate most, if not all, of the fol- relating to the cultural heritage of the area or region. lowing points: (1) the encouragement and marketing of local, • Creating a working Corpus of Syrian Mosaics. TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” X H:11” 200L 115g EX Gold East M/A Magenta(S) EX Gold East M/A 115g 200L X H:11” TJ14-3-2008 PO(Sam) GCI W:9” (a) (b) FIGURE 1 Examples of poor storage conditions: (a) stacking of faced fragments with no supports; and (b) loose tesserae and fragments of damaged relaid panel. Courtesy of Department of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), Syria. 140 TJ14-3 P137-178 200L CTP.indd 140 3/3/08 11:39:16 AAMM Cyan Magenta Yellow Black Conservation and Preservation of Mosaics in Syria 141 Several intensive training programs in mosaic restora- they may be able to purchase copies. Th us, by involving local tion and preservation have been instituted in order to build stakeholders, we are encouraging sustainable means of income a dedicated core of conservators to carry out the required generation based on the concept of in situ preservation, thereby work and to act as a nucleus for training additional people as preventing the killing of the goose that lays the golden egg. the need arises. Th ese programs were organized at the local Another example of this new approach is an ongo- level within the Science and Conservation Laboratories of ing joint project of the Centre for Archaeological Research the DGAM as well as at the regional and international levels, at the University of Damascus and the European Centre for for example, the Bilad Al-Sham mosaic restoration training Byzantine and Post Byzantine Monuments (EKBBM). Th e programs (Hamdan and Benelli 2005). Th e Bilad Al-Sham project has two main aims: program, which included intensive courses on ancient mosaic restoration and awareness-raising activities on the impor- • To establish a working database with which to fully tance of preserving cultural heritage, involved the antiquities document mosaic pavements on-site and in storage in departments of Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan and was supported museums in Syria using modern methods. by the European Union. Furthermore, with the use of cement • To conduct a training course for Syrians to carry out banned, lighter composite durable frames are now employed this process. using materials such as Aerolam® (an aluminum and fi ber- glass sandwich panel).