Help Protect Syria's Culture!

Researchers at Freie Universität Digitize Inventory of Endangered Museum in Syria. As part of the funding line of the German Federal Foreign Office for protecting cultural property against robbery and destruction in Syria, researchers in a new research project at Freie Universität are digitizing the inventory of the National Museum of Deir az-Zor in Syria. The inauguration of the museum in 1996 was preceded by a three-year joint project of the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Freie Universität with prominent support from the German Federal Foreign Office for the realization of the permanent exhibition of the museum. There is a file card index of the inventory dating from this period that now serves as the starting point for the digitalization of the museum inventory. Under the umbrella of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and in cooperation with the Directorate General of Syrian Antiquities in Damascus (DGAM), this project aims to create a database of the museum inventory in English and Arabic. Once this is completed, the objective is to excerpt an illustrated short list that would be made available with controlled access via the Internet. The project is headed by Hartmut Kühne from the Institute of Near Eastern Archaeology at Freie Universität Berlin. The project was set up for a two-year period. So far the German Federal Foreign Office has approved funding through the end of this year.