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Protecting cultural heritage

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We’re launching a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled Endangered Archaeology: Using Remote Sensing to Protect Cultural Heritage.

By enrolling on the Endangered Archaeology MOOC, you can learn about identifying and monitoring heritage sites using satellite imagery, as well as basic map-making to help communicate information about the condition of the sites. 

The course is a key resource for anyone in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region interested in cultural heritage and archaeology and developing their own skillset. 

The course was developed by researchers from the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project (EAMENA), working at Durham University and the Universities of Oxford and Leicester. 

Staff from the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage Iraq training at the Cultural Protection Fund-EAMENA training in Endangered Archaeology Methodology in Baghdad.
Staff from the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage Iraq training at the Cultural Protection Fund-EAMENA training in Endangered Archaeology Methodology in Baghdad.

Enrol on the course 

MOOCs are free online courses, available for anyone to enrol from anywhere in the world. Our Endangered Archaeology course is available in Arabic, English, Farsi and French, and is accessible via the links at the end of this article. 

Why is heritage important?  

Heritage is essential to our sense of identity and place in the world, but more than ever our heritage is under threat from conflict, tourism, natural disasters, and climate change. This puts archaeology at the heart of contemporary political and social debates.  

Staff from the Directorate General of Antiquities Lebanon and Durham University during the Cultural Protection Fund-EAMENA training in Endangered Archaeology Methodology in Beirut.
Staff from the Directorate General of Antiquities Lebanon and Durham University during the Cultural Protection Fund-EAMENA training in Endangered Archaeology Methodology in Beirut.

Protecting cultural heritage around the world

To coincide with the launch of the MOOC, we’ve also launched the Durham Centre for Cultural Heritage Protection (DCCHP), led by our Department of Archaeology.

The Centre builds on our expertise in global cultural heritage protection and offers training and knowledge exchange with cultural heritage professionals around the world.


What are the DCCHP's aims?

Inspired by Durham's own UNESCO World Heritage site, and our knowledge and experience of global heritage protection and training, we are working to sustain and protect cultural heritage for future generations. 

We do this through documenting heritage sites, research, training, and consultancy. We also aim to understand how people across the globe engage with, and respond to, their own heritage and that of others.

Training in Action: Heritage Preservation in Post-conflict North Africa
Training in Action: Heritage Preservation in Post-conflict North Africa

Find out more 

  • Visit our DCCHP web pages to find out more about the Centre and upcoming events. 
  • The Endangered Archaeology: Using Remote Sensing to Protect Cultural Heritage MOOC is available in ArabicEnglishFarsi and French.  

 

 

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