conservation - ARCH International

Safeguarding Cultural Treasures

Conservation
& Reconstruction

Iraq

We rebuilt the Shrine of Old Testament Prophet Nahum, a three year, 2.5 million dollar effort in a challenging locale. When we started, ISIS was still holding Mosul, a mere 30 miles from the town of Alqosh where the shrine is located.

We are now restoring a second site in Iraq. The Synagogue of Ezekiel is located in Shush near the remnants of a mosque, a church and a Zoroastrian temple, all in an area of great natural beauty. We envision a contemplative educational Walkway highlighting interfaith friendship

Greece

We conserved the world’s oldest underwater city, Pavlopetri. We set up a protective ring of buoys; achieved the inscription of the site on official maritime navigation maps so ships know to avoid this area; designed a master plan; and initiated a very popular annual series of Watch Day weekends with events for the public and families with hundreds of participants.

Europe

On a mountaintop between Austria, Slovenia and Italy, a region with a history of ethnic conflict and violence, we are working with local community groups to restore a historic Alpine Lodge that was taken over by military and paramilitary units in both world wars and burned down twice. Today, the foundations of this lodge are the scene of multi-ethnic, tri-national festivals, field masses, pilgrimages and sporting and cultural events. The project was selected for presentation at the Annual Conference of the European Association of Archeologists, and ARCH’s article “Peace on the Mountain” is featured in the current edition of their professional journal.

Afghanistan

We led an advocacy campaign around the physical preservation of the Bamiyan Buddhas together with the Technical University in Munich. ARCH was the first organization to involve the World Bank, and publish a White Paper, presenting concrete solutions around the importance of saving the Bronze Age site Mes Aynak from destruction. Together with Johns Hopkins University ARCH conducted extensive research culminating in a high level technical conference in Washington DC.

Global - Rumi Garden

Rumi Gardens are an ideal transition point linking physical with intangible heritage. In addition to the planned garden in Shush, we are finalizing our plans for a Rumi Garden. We registered a legal copyright for the concept “Rumi Garden”. Professor Elin Haaga and the head of a prominent Landscape Engineering Firm, Jeff Lee, have created initial designs to be adapted for the selected site