Partners

• National Museum in Belgrade
• Museum of Srem
• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property

Financial support

• Directorate-General of Cooperation for Development (DGCS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy

Duration: 4 weeks (28 August – 22 September 2006)

Place: Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia

Participants
Sixteen participants from seven countries in Southeast Europe, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece and Serbia. The participants work in conservation institutions in the region.

Aim
The course aimed at increasing the understanding of methods and techniques available for context analysis, documentation, diagnosis as well as planning for conservation within archaeological sites.

Description
The one-month course was divided in three units, including theoretical sessions as well as practical exercises at the site of Sirmium. The course concluded with a two day directors' seminar.

Unit 1 - participants were given an overview to the characteristics and technology of archaeological materials, and of climatic and environmental conditions in archaeological sites, with specific reference to Sirmium.

Unit 2 - participants were introduced to the condition assessment process, based on visual macroscopic observation techniques. They were presented with a systematic approach for the analysis of a site, taking into account its context, the causes of deterioration, alteration processes and decay. This unit involved practical excercises using different tools and techniques for recording, describing and presenting the causes and effects of the alteration and decay.

Unit 3 - specific case studies were used for the planning process of archaeological conservation. Based on the analysis carried out in Unit 2, the participants produced proposals which included conservation measures and presentation of the archaeological site of Sirmium.

A small LAN (Local Area Network) was setup for the course, allowing the participants to work on the proposals as a team project.

Directors' seminar - at the end of the course, Directors from the participants' home institutions were invited to take part in a two-day seminar in Sremska Mitrovica. Future training activities in the region were also discussed.

The seminar included:

• a guided visit to Sirmium;
• presentations by the course participants on the results obtained during the course;
• presentations by the Directors on the main concerns and current archaeological conservation issues in their institution, region or country.

Main achievements
By the end of the course, the participants had:

• enhanced their knowledge and skills on the characteristics and behaviour of materials;
• acquired skills for the monitoring of climatic conditions within a site;
• initiated the development of a multilingual glossary on the alteration and decay of stone and related materials;
• developed and presented proposals for the conservation and presentation of an archaeological site;
• shared experiences in the conservation and management of archaeological sites.

updated on: 13 April, 2010