Planned and Completed
•   Cleaning of the monument and of the surrounding areas
•   Restoration works: moving of n. 97 blocks collapsed and their consolidation

As well, as approved by the Antiquities Departments of Tripoli and Cyrene, our work is in the Central Quarter of the ancient polis, focused on the porticated public building overlooking the bottom valley road, dated in the third century A.C.: the cleaning of the monument, the inventorial files of the sculptures and of the moving elements of the architectural decoration make up the first part of the operation.

The Amphitheatre of the Sanctuary of Apollo, together with other monuments within the city of Cyrene, suffered damage during a severe Mediterranean regional earthquake in AD. 365 which effectively destroyed the city. The Amphitheatre is set on a high escarpment and cracks caused instability at the Western end of the cavea, (bowl shaped seating area). In the almost two millennia since this occurred, many stones had become displaced and the hill upon which these stones were originally erected, had destabilized.

  
Photo: Sanctuary of Apollo Amphitheatre, Cyrene during conservation.

In any archaeological site, where structures of especially finished or ashlar stone are uncovered in a ruinous state, it is often possible to reconstruct elements of the ruin in a disciplined technique called anastylosis. In the case of the Amphitheatre of the Sanctuary of Apollo, leaving the fallen material as a ruin was not an option as stones within the destabilized group have continued to roll away and fall even in recent years, causing danger to the communities below the escarpment.

The GHF Cyrene teams have carefully documented the position of every stone on the cavea, and where these are well founded and stable, they remain in situ. In the region of 150 stones which had become displaced and destabilized have been documented and surveyed in their found position, then they are registered and numbered and carefully moved into a holding area while engineers evaluate the conditions in the escarpment and the foundations for the theatre. Archaeologists have discovered and surveyed a second layer of stones beneath the fallen structure that may represent an earlier stage of the amphitheatre, which later became the foundations for the theatre that we see today. When in their holding places a huge jigsaw is solved. Broken and cracked stones are reunited into whole finished stones, and then using data from found positions, exact geometry, deformation, local decoration or molding, patterns of erosion and lichen growth, the original position of the stones may be re-established and they can be replaced on a consolidated foundation.

Photo: Sanctuary of Apollo Amphitheatre, Cyrene during conservation

Anastylosis is a highly disciplined and difficult technique and it is noteworthy that much of the jigsaw work is being done by local people trained in aspects of conservation during the life of the project, who have an almost innate skill in piecing together the original form of the cavea seating. This local involvement at a technical level raises the awareness of the local inhabitants to the nature and importance of the Ancient city, with the added advantage of supplying a useful income.

Documentation:  Mapping / Photography / Other
• Topographic and photogrammetric surveys, combined with direct and indirect computerized survey (CAD System), for the completion of the planimetry and for the achievement of vertical structures of the monument

• Stratigraphic surveys

• Digitalized cataloguing of the architectural elements of the collapsed cavea, documentation of the ceramic material found in the excavation

• Photographic documentation of all working phases carried out on the monument

New research includes the computerized inventory of the 2500 or so architectural elements that were placed on the terrace to the west of the monument in the 1900s, took place alongside stratigraphic excavation. The work has already had an important impact on the reconstruction of the monument in the Greek and Roman periods, let alone the research for the impressive plan of the restoration and for the first phase of re-erecting the architectural elements.  This project is one of the most important studies at a monumental-level taking place in Libya today.

Community Development
Italian SUN trainees and Libyan apprentice, professional and skilled workers have been cooperating on site conservation and restoration led by the Director of MAIC and professors of Second University of Naples: cleaning archaeological areas, excavations in the Sanctuary of Apollo, mainly in the Theatre-Amphitheatre, moving and consolidating fallen blocks.

GHF conservation and development of strategic cultural heritage assets not only builds the developmental potential of surrounding local communities, but also utilizes community engagement and development to support project sustainability. GHF recognizes the importance of local conditions, characteristics, and individuals and that local factors are an integral part of the developmental process – the conservation and development process must in essence be ‘homegrown’. Without the support and knowledge of local communities, the success of a cultural heritage site is doubtful.

Education, Capacity Building & Training
GHF’s partnership agreement with the Libyan Department of Antiquities creates a 20-30 person Conservation Team comprised of Libyan conservators, architects, planners, engineers and archaeologists working over the next ten years to bring Cyrene Archaeological Area up to international standards in conservation, staffing, funding and park services. GHF will provide co-funding for technical training of Cyrene personnel and Conservation Team members.  In addition, UNESCO and the Libyan Department of Antiquities will work with current archaeological missions to develop world-class site interpretation and an artifact conservation laboratory.

One of the most critical initiatives is building long-term capacity in site conservation and maintenance personnel for sustainable development and protection of Cyrene. GHF will undertake extensive training of Libyan nationals in the latest conservation techniques, enforcement and protection of antiquities at the Cyrene UNESCO World Heritage site. This includes establishing a new multi-disciplinary Cyrene Conservation Team comprised of Libyan and international experts, Libyan archaeologists, architects, engineers and conservators, and new conservation leaders trained from the local university and the community.

Tourism & Business Development
Over the past two decades, cultural heritage sites and cultural tourism have become major economic engines.  Today, tourism is the principle export for 83% of developing countries and the primary source of foreign exchange in the 49 Least Developed Countries. In many developing countries, income stemming from cultural assets and tourism surpasses mining, oil, extraction industries, and, in some instances, agriculture.

Cultural tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism market today, and cultural assets, therefore, offer the greatest opportunity for revenue capture by local communities through guiding, local crafts, exhibitions, festivals and events, lodging, and authentic cuisine.  Around the world, many cultural and finance ministers are looking to cultural tourism as a path to development and a means to help alleviate poverty.

The government of Libya, following a similar path to many oil rich countries, is taking an active interest in how to invest oil revenues now to help sustain social gains and invest into more sustainable industries. With its 1,100 km coastline of unspoiled beaches and wealth of cultural assets, the Libyan Government is investing tremendous resources in the nascent tourism industry and its weak tourism infrastructure. Libya attracted about 130,000 visitors in 2006, a drop in the bucket compared to the over 6,000,000 in Egypt and Morocco.

GHF is working over the next 6 months to identify a suitable local partner to help implement tourism and business development training for the neighboring town of Shahat. Over the next 2-3 years, GHF hopes to work in partnership with the Green Mountain Conservation & Development Agency (GMCDA) government, local and international organizations and corporate sponsors, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) or Chevron Petroleum, to fund community-based development programs to:

Increase tourism numbers to Northeastern Libya & Cyrene site visitation

Develop tourism infrastructure, including museum and visitor center

Increase training and capacity building relating to site management & protection

Increased guide and language training for local stakeholders

Foster micro, small and medium enterprise development and business training

Build youth education training and school field trips around history and heritage to help foster local stewardship