4 October. As part of a three-phase training activity, ICCROM hosted the review meeting for the Conservation and Management of Mosaics on Archaeological Sites course, organized by ICCROM and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in the framework of their respective ATHAR and MOSAIKON Programmes.

The meeting was the third final phase of a 15-month long course designed to provide learning and practical experience on managing risk factors affecting the preservation of in situ archaeological mosaics. It was a follow-up of the course’s second phase mentoring period, during which the participants applied the learning and experience they acquired during the first phase three-week training workshop in 2010, to their own sites through the design and implementation of year-long projects. During this period, course instructors served as ‘mentors’, providing additional information and guidance as required. 

The meeting in Rome brought together 13 participants from Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia, and three course experts from the UK, Lebanon and Italy, to evaluate and discuss the future prospects of the course.  ICCROM and GCI project professional team facilitated discussions and led class room and field activities devised for the five-day programme. 

ICCROM-based activities included presentations and discussions on the participants’ work, supplemented with visits to the baths of Diocletian and to Villa dei Quintilli on Via Appia Antica, Rome, where the group was introduced to the different approaches adopted for the conservation of mosaics at each site respectively.

The highlight of the week was a two-day visit to Herculaneum, hosted by the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP) and the Herculaneum Centre. The visit included introduction to ongoing site projects led by members of staff of the HCP and Herculaneum Centre, presenting the conservation and management problems of the mosaics and how the HCP aims to address these in the near future. The visit was primarily of a didactic nature, as participants were asked to apply their knowledge gained from the previous phases to solve real site problems related to onsite areas with mosaics, by making suggestions and recommendations, which led on to wider discussions between the participants and the instructors with input from the HCP staff.

Following discussion on future prospects and potential collaboration and networking, the meeting concluded with a closing session, where all participants received their certificate of participation from the Director-General of ICCROM and the Head of Education Dept of the Getty Conservation Institute.

Member States represented: Egypt, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and United Kingdom.

updated on: 5 November, 2011