Jordan and Italy join hands on conservation at UNESCO World Heritage site of Umm ar-Rasas

AMMAN, Jordan – An extensive training on archaeological conservation directed at officials of the DoA-Department of Antiquities will start on Sunday, the 8^th of February, and continue till the mid of March at Umm ar-Rasas Visitors Centre. The training has been designed through the EU-funded Jordan-Italy Twinning project “Strengthen the institutional tourism system in Jordan by enhancing the capacities of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities”, and will be carried out by experts from the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (MiBACT).

The training is part of the action of the Twinning project dedicated to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Umm ar-Rasas, an archaeological site which started as a Roman military camp and grew to become a town from the 5th century, containing remains from the Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic periods (end of 3rd to 9th centuries AD). The training aims at enhancing the capacities of the staff of DoA and the staff of Umm ar-Rasas particularly, build on their skills and experiences and enhancing them through lectures and hands-on practical demonstrations and exercises, delivered by distinguished Italian experts. The program of the training has been developed through the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism and the Department of Antiquities.

Dr. Monther Jamhawi, General Director of Department of Antiquities, said: “This course is designed to strengthen and build the capacity of the staff of Umm ar-Rasas site particularly and the staff of the Department of Antiquities generally. Our journey in the site of Umm ar-Rasas started from the moment of discovery in 1986 and the completion of the archaeological excavations, followed by maintenance and restoration works until it was listed on the World Heritage List in 2004. The site development by The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities began with the construction of the visitor center and trails, the signage system as well as acquisition of large part of the site to become a tourism destination. Through this Training of capacity building, we hope to qualify the staff of Umm ar-Rasas, who are originally from the local community to enable them to integrate them into the management and conservation of the site and sustain the site for future generation”

Dr. Rosanna Binacchi, Project Leader for the Twinning project, said: “Each training session will cover a specific theme: valorization of archaeological sites and museums, shelter design, preventive conservation, restoration of historical buildings. The training activity has been designed with special focus on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Umm ar-Rasas and its structures that span from the Roman to the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. One more  example of the long-lasting and profitable cooperation between Jordan and Italy in the field of heritage and conservation”.