Sebastia: Promoting Community’s Role in Preserving Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas
Community Archaeology in Israel/Palestine - Raz Kletter
Osama Hamdan [+]
Al Quds University and the Mosaic Centre, Jericho, Palestine
Osama Hamdan is a specialist in cultural heritage conservation and, since 1997, a lecturer of “Conservation and Restoration” at the Archaeology Department of Al-Quds University (Abu Dis, Palestine). Since 1994, he has directed several conservation projects in Palestine, Jordan, and Syria, including the conservation and rehabilitation of the old cores of Sebastia and Bethany. He is the President of the Palestinian NGO Mosaic Centre and carried out various awareness activities in cultural heritage protection involving the local community. He published several scientific books and articles.
Carla Benelli [+]
ATS Custody of the Holy Land, Italy
Carla Benelli is an art historian specialised in protecting local communities’ cultural rights.
She has been working as a researcher in training activities in cultural heritage conservation projects in the Middle East since 1999. Until 2008, she assisted Prof. Michele Piccirillo, Director of the Archaeological Museum of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. Currently, she works in Palestine and Jordan in heritage conservation and training activities for the Italian association pro Terra Sancta and the Palestinian NGO Mosaic Centre
Description
How to preserve cultural heritage in areas where communities conflict with the control of resources? What are the obstacles to the conservation and enhancement of the rich and varied Palestinian heritage, and what are the opportunities for local communities; social, economic, and cultural growth? How is archaeology used in conflicts to expand control by hegemonic forces to the detriment of local inhabitants? The text explores the conflict case of the cultural heritage of Sebastia, trying to understand its causes, and highlights its strategic importance in building peace and preventing conflicts.