The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), in collaboration with the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), organized a workshop on conservation and archaeology for selected directors of excavations and members of ASOR following its Annual Meeting in November 2019 in San Diego, CA.

Photograph by Juliette Raffaelli. Image copyright J. Paul Getty Trust.

The workshop grew out of the Archaeology and Conservation Education Roundtable organized by the GCI and hosted by the Getty Villa and the GCI in 2017, an initiative itself rooted in the Institute’s long-term work in archaeological conservation. During the roundtable, the invited faculty in archaeology and conservation, from universities where both fields are taught, identified the need for better knowledge of conservation by archaeologists and better knowledge of archaeology by conservators, to improve collaboration and best practices in fieldwork. One proposed action coming out of the roundtable was delivering workshops or “boot camps” on conservation for archaeologists, and on archaeology for conservators, in association with their respective professional meetings. This GCI-ASOR collaboration was the first of the proposed workshops to be conducted.

Photograph by Juliette Raffaelli. Image copyright J. Paul Getty Trust.

The one-day workshop was attended by twenty-four midcareer and senior excavation directors in the ASOR region and selected staff from the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan. It included an introduction to archaeological materials and their deterioration causes and mechanisms, followed by a discussion of ethics in archaeology and conservation. Subsequent presentations by conservators with extensive experience on archaeological excavations focused on the conservation process and the importance of pre-excavation planning. Case studies of best practices in collaborative fieldwork were presented, forming the basis for discussions on planning, budgeting, and funding. This last topic was of particular importance to some participants, who identified it as a primary obstacle to integrating conservation in their research and excavation plans. One potential follow-up of the workshop will be for the GCI to convene a meeting of archaeological organizations and principal funders of archaeological research to advocate for including funding for conservation and a conservator in their research grants.

Click here for the Spring 2020 GCI Newsletter on Conservation Perspectives.

Photograph by Juliette Raffaelli. Image copyright J. Paul Getty Trust.