German Archaeological Institute hosts new heritage preservation training programmes

AMMAN — The collaboration between the Department of Antiquities (DoA) and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) has extended its impact by initiating a restoration project in Umm Qais (ancient Gadara) that will present a myriad of new training programmes to Jordanians, according to Claudia Bührig from the DAI.

“On May 30 three agreements were signed at the DoA in the presence of the Director-General of the DoA Fadi Bala’awi,” Bührig said, noting that the agreements represent a joint German-Jordanian initiative for cultural preservation.

The agreements provide training programmes in stonemason apprenticeship, preservation and excavation, Bührig told The Jordan Times. She explained that these training programmes will be held in Umm Qais, which will also be used for storage purposes by the DAI. 

One of the training programmes, “Building Preservation and Stonemasonry” are holding a course in Gadara, an upper village of Umm Qais, from May 20 through June 22.

“In addition to training in stonemasonry and techniques in building preservation, this year we also focused more on the topic of clay plastering in the interiors,” Bührig said. 

She explained that the purpose of the training is to introduce the incorporation of clay plaster in local materials.  

The DAI is also interested in initiating a summer programme with a focus on excavating and processing finds, introducing Jordanians to archaeology, she said.

Another programme, titled “Clarification of the settlement history from the beginnings around 200 BC to the new settlement at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century,and the handling of the village structure today”, will also commence under the supervision of a German-Jordanian archaeologist, Bührig added.