About this lecture
In the frame of the conference “Saving Cultural Heritage in Crisis Areas” organized by the American Academy of Rome, Roberto Nardi presented the Roman city of Zeugma (Turkey) conservation project. In May of 2000, the New York Times published a cry of alarm for the Roman city of Zeugma, in southeast Anatolia, Turkey. It was soon to be submerged by the waters of the Euphrates, because a new dam was being built downstream.
The New York Times appeal was taken to heart by David Packard of the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) of California, who immediately organized an action plan based on a “targeted” archaeological investigation and on conservation in situ. The program also included the restoration of almost 850 m2 of figurate polychrome mosaics which represent today one of the most extraordinary mosaics collections on display.
The American Academy conference showed how cultural treasures around the world are threatened by war, natural disasters, infrastructure projects such as the dam in Turkey, and the looting of sites around the world. The conference also illuminated the evolving moral and political climate affecting art museums that buy antiquities
Speaker(s): Roberto Nardi
Date: November 4th to November 5th, 2011
Location(s): American Academy, Rome, Italy
Organizing Institution(s): American Academy, Rome