Archaeologists of world capitals and cities discuss about coexistence of heritage conservation and community livelihoods

 - “World Archaeology: Ancient Cities and Royal Capitals” symposium,

July 20, Koreana Hotel, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (hereinafterNRICH, Director General Kim Yeonsoo) under the Cultural Heritage Administration (hereinafter CHA), together with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM, headed by Director-General Webber Ndoro), will cohost the international symposium titled “World Archaeology: Ancient Cities and Royal Capitals”.
* ICCROM: An intergovernmental organization established in 1959 for the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage worldwide. An advisory body of the World Heritage Committee, ICCROM has its headquarters in Rome, Italy. 137 countries, including the Republic of Korea, are members of the organization.

The symposium, the first outcome made possible under the MOU signed last June between NRICH and ICCROM, will discuss cases of investigation and research on ancient archaeological sites in representative historical cities across the world and related conservation policies that have contributed to the development of the surrounding areas.

The symposium will start with the keynote speech on the subject of “Ancient cities in South Africa” by Webber Ndoro, Director-General of ICCROM. He is expected to give an introduction to the main archaeological sites in Great Zimbabwe, which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986and what Africanness is.
* Great Zimbabwe: One of the most significant heritage sites formed between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries in pre-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa. The site was the capital city of a wealthy international trading kingdom and contained a composite residential district of the kingdom’s royal family.

The keynote address will be followed by four presentations and a discussion by experts. The following presentations will be given: “Egypt: Ancient Thebes with its necropolis” (Mostafa Mohamed Mohamed Alsaghir,General Director, Karnak Temples and Avenue of Sphinxes),“Italy: The National Archaeological Museum of Naples between past and present” (Paolo Giulierini, Director, Naples National Archaeological Museum), “Türkiye: The birthplace and capital of Hittites : Kültepe-Kanesh and Bogazköy-Hattusha” (Fikri Kulakoğlu, Prof., Ankara University / Director, Kültepe-Kanesh Excavation Site), and “Korea: The ancient capitals of Seoul and Gyeongju” (Lee Sang-jun, (Cultural Heritage Committee)).

The following expert discussion will be chaired by Kang Bong-won (Chairman, Cultural Heritage Committee, Emeritus Professor of Gyeongju University) with the participation of Kim Gil-sik (Chairman, Korean Archaeological Society / Cultural Heritage Committee), Seong Jeong-yong (Chairman, The Hoseo Archaeological Society / Cultural Heritage Committee), Lee Jeong-ho (Prof., Dongshin University / Cultural Heritage Committee), Kang In-uk (Prof., Kyunghee University), and Shin Hee-kweon (Prof., University of Seoul). The presenters and experts will exchange ideas on policies for the investigation and conservation of archaeological sites in ancient cities and royal capitals scattered around the world.

NRICH of the Cultural Heritage Administration will strengthen the cooperation with ICCROM, in hosting the international conference on “World Archaeology”, and promote efforts to investigate, conserve and use Korean archaeological sites effectively to raise international recognition and attention.

※ The symposium is a public event, and will be open to interested members of the public who arrives at the symposium venue before the starts of the events. The symposium will be broadcast live via YouTube. For further details, please contact the Archaeological Research Division of NRICH.