The first project of its kind

Description

QuarryScapes was the first project of its kind to address the importance of ancient quarry landscapes and raise  awareness of the urgent needs for protecting such sites. QuarryScapes developed scientific and practical methodologies for documentation, characterization and conservation of ancient quarry landscapes, raised the awareness of their significance and vulnerability and contributed to legal protection measures and sustainable management. Through case studies in Egypt, Jordan and Turkey; the project  addressed the development of theoretical and practical methods pertaining to the major steps in the process of conservation: from recognition, investigation and assessment of significance, risks understandings, developing sound conservation and monitoring concepts, and suggesting mechanisms for sustainable management. The project was subdivided in ten work packages.

QuarryScapes will also organize open workshops and disseminate project results through the development of practical guidelines for conservation of ancient quarry landscapes.

Services

• Develop a primary inventory system based on existing systems in related fields and case studies in Jordan and Turkey.

Investigation of ancient quarry landscapes

• Develop archaeological and geological field survey methodologies based on GPS (Global Positioning System) and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) technology for detailed characterizations and interpretation of the features of the sites based on case studies in complex quarry landscapes in Egypt and Turkey.

The significance of ancient quarry landscapes

• Explore means to assess values and significance through a combination of the results from all case studies.

Risk assessment and monitoring of ancient quarry landscapes:

• Develop tools for risk analysis and monitoring applicable to ancient quarry sites, primarily based on case studies in Egypt.

Conservation concepts

• Establish a practical, conceptual model for the conservation and management of a quarry landscape (in the form of a management plan for Widan el-Faras, Fayoum, Egypt), and explore the applicability of similar conceptual models for quarry landscapes in general.

Sustainable management

• Design and produce thematic site maps and overview maps for practical use in site and landscape management, and general land use planning.

Conservation and management guidelines

• Establish a scientific foundation for practical conservation and management of ancient quarry landscapes through critical evaluation of the case studies in the light of recent developments in related fields.
• Produce and publish a set of practical guidelines for conservation and sustainable management of ancient stone quarry landscapes.

Workshops, network and dissemination

• Organize three open workshops on different aspects of ancient quarry landscapes and build the foundation of a sustainable professional network.
• Produce a series of printed and digital publications, promoting the conservation of quarry landscapes, aimed at the scientific community, heritage managers at various levels, NGOs and the general audience.