An interview with PBS NewsHour
April 12, 2017
CACHE Director, Dr. Tobin Hartnell, visits the ancient site of Nimrud in Northern Iraq, now destroyed by ISIS, with PBS NewsHour's Marcia Briggs and Iraqi archaeologist Layla Salih. Watch the program here.
Protecting the Past: Towards a Better Future with Cultural Heritage
November 8, 2016
A 2-day conference (October 30th and 31st) brought together national and international experts to explore new approaches to monitor, protect and preserve the cultural heritage of all Iraq. This was the first time that such a conference has been held in Iraq covering this topic, and we hope it will not be the last.
The podcasts from the conference are now available online. Please click on individual talks in the program or visit our podcast channel to listen to the conference speakers. Kurdish and Arabic translations of podcasts are available, where indicated next to each talk. The podcasts have been produced by EAMENA, and are also available on the Protecting the Past and the University of Oxford websites.
AUIS to Use Drone Technology for Archaeological Mapping in Kurdistan
April 20, 2016
The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) demonstrated the first official flight of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), aka drone, over the AUIS campus for students, staff and faculty members. The flight was demonstrated by Dr. Tobin Hartnell, assistant professor and director of the Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (CACHE), and Mohammed Anwer, an IT student who will be piloting the drone for the Social Sciences department’s projects. This marks another successful milestone for AUIS in its endeavors towards using modern technology for research and academic activities. Read more.
Augmented Reality: Digital Preservation of Architectural Heritage
March 9, 2016
The AUIS Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (CACHE) presented the first seminar in their new Technology/History lecture series. The guest speaker was architect and lecturer, Dr. Rozhin Kamal, who talked about the various technologies now available to preserve archaeological and historical heritage in a digital format. Listen to her talk in our podcast below.
CACHE Director speaks at History and Architectural Heritage Symposium at the University of Sulaimani
February 2, 2016
Preserving the Architectural Heritage of Sulaimani is one of the pressing issues facing local cultural heritage specialists today. If preserved properly, this architectural heritage can maintain community links to the past whilst promoting economic opportunities for the future. To discuss the potential for architectural heritage in Sulaimani, Dr. Kozad Ahmed, Director of the Archaeology Department, and Dr. Ahmed Baban, Director of the Department of Social Sciences, invited a dozen local and regional experts to the University of Sulaimani to find ways to preserve and promote architectural heritage for future generations. Speakers included Mr. Abdulraqeeb, a pioneer freelance archaeologist, Dr. Zaidan Bradoshti, Director of Department of Archaeology in Salahaddin University, Erbil; and Dr. Kozad Ahmed himself who spoke about how Kurdistan can be modern, whilst preserving its culture. AUIS professor and CACHE director, Dr. Tobin Hartnell discussed the diverse cultural heritage management strategies in Iran as a potential model for local cultural heritage managers to follow. The symposium was a great success with over 150 guests in attendance.
Symposium on the Origins of Kurdish Civilization
October 28, 2015
The symposium brought together scholars from the US, Portugal, Belgium and the Kurdistan region of Iraq to discuss exciting new discoveries, including Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh, relating to the earliest history of the Kurdish highlands. You can read more about the event and listen to the guest speakers in the AUIS podcast here: http://auis.edu.krd/news/symposium-origins-kurdish-civilization
First Archaeological Project at AUIS
July 2015
This summer, an archaeological team from AUIS set out for topographic mapping of Peshdar 36 - an ancient city located near the banks of the Dukan Dam Lake. The site is located about 5 km south of Raniya, in the Raniya Plain, but in the Peshdar administrative district in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Read more about the project here: http://auis.edu.krd/news/first-archaeological-project-auis
Ifpo Conducts Archaeology Workshops for AUIS Students
May 2015
In May 2015, two senior archaeologists from the Institut français du Proche-Orient (ifpo) in Erbil conducted three sessions of introductory training workshops on different aspects of archaeological survey for the students of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS). Read more about the workshops in this AUIS news article: http://auis.edu.krd/ifpo-archaeology-workshops
A Presentation on Queen Puabi - Dr. Holly Pittman
May 28, 2015
Earlier this year, the Head of Art History at University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Holly Pittman, was invited to AUIS to give a talk on Queen Puabi, one of the most famous queens of Sumer (the oldest civilization of Mesopotamia) and the treasures of the Royal Tombs of Ur. The site was excavated first in the 1920s and has provided one of the greatest collection of artefacts from ancient Sumer. You can listen to Dr. Pittman's interesting lecture in an AUIS podcast. Read more about the event: http://auis.edu.krd/news/presentation-queen-puabi-and-royal-tombs-ur