Archaeologists from world capitals and cities gather in Seoul to discuss the coexistence of heritage conservation and community livelihoods.
The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH, headed by Director General Kim Yeon-soo) of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), together with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM, headed by Director-General Webber Ndoro), will cohost the international symposium titled “World Archaeology: Ancient Cities and Royal Capitals” in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 20 July 2023.
The symposium, the first outcome made possible under the MoU signed in June between NRICH and ICCROM, will discuss cases of investigation and research on ancient archaeological sites in representative historical cities across the world and related conservation policies that have contributed to the development of the surrounding areas.
The symposium will start with the keynote speech on the subject of “Ancient cities in South Africa” by Webber Ndoro, Director-General of ICCROM. He will introduce the main archaeological sites in Great Zimbabwe, which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and what Africanness is.
Great Zimbabwe is one of the most significant heritage sites formed between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries in pre-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa. The site was the capital city of a wealthy international trading kingdom and contained a composite residential district of the kingdom’s royal family.
The keynote address will be followed by four presentations and a discussion by experts. The following presentations will be given: “Egypt: Ancient Thebes with its necropolis” (Mostafa Mohamed Mohamed Alsaghir, Director, Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities), “Italy: The National Archaeological Museum of Naples between past and present” (Paolo Giulierini, Director, Naples National Archaeological Museum), “Türkiye: The birthplace and capital of Hittites: Kültepe-Kanesh and Bogazköy-Hattusha” (Fikri Kulakoğlu, Professor, Ankara University, and Director, Kültepe-Kanesh Excavation Site), and “Korea: The ancient capitals of Seoul and Gyeongju” (Lee Sang-jun, Cultural Heritage Committee).
Lee sung
National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH)
(+82) (042-860-9171)
One Haeseon
National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH)
(+82) (042-860-9289)
Jennifer Copithorne
ICCROM
(+39) 0658553413