The erasure of heritage objects and the threat to material culture in the Middle East, particularly due to ongoing wars and conflicts, represents a profound loss to both regional and global history. These objects are not just remnants of the past; they embody the identities, memories, and traditions of civilisations that have shaped human progress. …
Read more “Heritage in Crisis: The theft and return of the Mask of Warka”
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One of the most contested historical artefacts is the Parthenon Marbles of Greece, also called the Elgin Marbles. Half of these artefacts are housed in the British Museum in London and the other half is in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Today, the dispute over the repatriation of the marbles from the British Museum to …
Read more “Contested Heritage: the Parthenon Marbles as Case Study”
Tanzania’s mainland and islands have played a pivotal role in the trade between Africa, Europe, and the East for over a millennia. Trading empires built on slaves, gold, and ivory have risen and fallen over the ages. Fortune seekers, traders, captives, and rulers have brought with them new customs and lifestyles to this East African …
The Ancient Boat Lab aims to apply an interdisciplinary approach to experimental archaeological reconstructions of the merchant vessels that sailed to and from Magan (the ancient name for the UAE and Oman) in the Bronze Age. Through engaging with construction methods, social histories, and historical and archaeological evidence, the Ancient Boat Lab takes researchers on …
The purpose is to chronicle the life and memories of Delma Island after the collapse of the pearl industry in the 1930s and the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in the 1950s. This is not an official historical record but rather the preservation of heritage and collective memories in the UAE’s age of …
Project to be launched in Spring 2023. This program is part of the Cultural Heritage and Memory Mapping. View the map here: Link to map Contributors: Nurcan Yalman, Tim Power. Partners: Istanbul Nişantaşı University, DHAKIRA – Center for Heritage Studies at NYUAD.