The alternative archaeology NGO Emek Shaveh will be holding a conference on Thursday of this week, June 30, 17:00-20:30 at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. Called “Recalculating Route: Navigating between Antiquities, Sanctity and Nationalism in Jerusalem,” the conference will tackle the present political, social and religious reality surrounding the ancient sites in Jerusalem’s historic basin and offer a vision for an overall management plan for the area.
Many of Jerusalem’s ancient sites are also sacred sites and tourist attractions creating a sphere in which scientific, social, religious, economic and nationalist agendas intersect. To date, the Israeli authorities have not presented a comprehensive plan for the excavation, conservation and development of archaeological sites in the historic basin.
In the winter of 2015-2016, Emek Shaveh brought together a group of experts from multiple fields, which met at Manarat – The Van Leer Center for Jewish-Arab Relations, and formulated a set of guidelines for the creation of such a plan. The conference will open with a presentation of the document by the expert committee, followed by the responses by representatives of government authorities. The second session will focus on the relationship between archaeology, tourism, sanctity and community. The Conference will be held mostly in Hebrew with simultaneous translation into English and Arabic.
For the full schedule and list of speakers see Facebook invitation in English:
