Gulfsands and archaeology


home
Gulfsands

IIMAS
Exploration Fund

     Gulfsands' enlightened policy, reflecting a strong commitment to values, is embodied in their statement about Corporate Social Responsibility.
     Excavations have not been possible in Syria since 2011, but Gulfsands' support has continued to make it possible for our project to work on three fronts that maintain a strong presence even during this period of forced absence.
     1. Research is continuing on a wide range of topics resulting from previous work: we have thus been able to support the work of a number of post-docs and graduate students. They not only work on material previously excavated, but they also are expanding the focus to include broader theoretical aspects in the field of archaeology. Since the end of excavations, four Ph. D. dissertations from prestigious American and European universities have been completed on our material.
     2. We have developed a vigorous publication program, that includes not only material from the earlier excavations, but also forays into important methodological issues, from conservation to 3-D analysis, which have always characterized the scholarly profile of our project.
     3. We are also emphasizing more than we were able to do before our public outreach mission. This has materialized in a major exhibit held in Rimini in 2014, and in a number of presentations at high schools, which are now partnering with us in certain aspects of our work, beginning with a translation of selected portions of the website into Italian.