PROJECTS

Lixus, Morocco
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Ghana

Project Lixus 2008- 2012

Towards the sustainable management of an archaeological site in Morocco Common Ground, a Dutch organisation for sustainable heritage management & international knowledge exchange, in partnership with the government of and various organisations in Morocco, initiated and developed an integral plan for the conservation, sustainable heritage management and international knowledge exchange for the important archaeological site of Lixus.

Lixus, a tell near the Atlantic coast, on the banks of the river Lukkos (in the North of Morocco) was founded in the 12th Century BC by Phoenician traders. It played an important role in the epics of Heracles, who, in search of the Garden of the Hesperides, found his golden apples here, at the end of the ‘known world’.

Since that period the city was continuously inhabited and expanded through Roman, Mauritanian and Islamic periods.

The site was abandoned after the 7th century AD and remained uninhabited until now.
Lixus therefore contains untouched remains from all periods and is a unique source for information.

UNESCO –since 1995- placed the site on their tentative list and some parts of the city were researched –and partially excavated- by French teams of archaeologists.
At the end of the last century, a project plan for the conservation of the site and the development of a new museum for ancient history was made, but the plans were never implemented. On the contrary; some old parts of the site were unprofessionally restored, and some of the unique original features (e.g. some Greek mosaics) were destroyed forever.

The site is not protected in any way and deteriorates fast by the elements, grazing goats and local looters. The region around Lixus will be developed in a very high pace; international project developers will build hotels (15.000 beds), golf courses and leisure centres in the region in the next 10 years and the site of Lixus is highly endangered by these activities. These developments will create a lot of opportunities for the local people though and it is in this line that the conservation and sustainable heritage management of the site will take place.

Morocco feels the urgency to protect the site and needs to create opportunities for a stimulus of the local economy by developing the region for tourist purposes. Project Lixus serves this initiative by safeguarding the site against the many visitors who will come to the site. The development of a structured access to the site, and the development of a Museum for Ancient History in Larache, will attract visitors and will lead to the enhancement of the capacity for local people.

The Team members of Common Ground (who are all highly experienced project managers in non destructive archaeology and heritage management & professors/ tutors at various universities) thus identified opportunities for the local community and developed a project plan for this site.

Goals

The goals for this project are:

Results

The results of this project will be:

Partners

Partners of Common Ground in Project Lixus – Larache are the Ministère des Affaires Culturelles (dhr. Salah, Rabat) and the Centre for International Heritage Activities, Amsterdam (Dr. Robert Parthesius, highly experienced in international archaeological and heritage projects in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and many more locations, see at www.heritage-activities.nl )

Many organisations and local and national governmental institutions have expressed their active contribution to this project:
Partners in Morocco are:
• Institut d’Archéologie et du Patrimoine de Rabat
• Institut Royal de la Culture Amazigh
• Museum of Ancient History in Rabat
• Province de Larache
• The local community of Larache
• Royal Embassy of The Netherlands in Rabat

Dutch participants in this project are:
• The Ministry of Culture, Science and Education
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Dutch School in Rabat (NIMAR), Prof. Dr. P. DeMas
• Institute for Heritage Management (CLUE, Free University Amsterdam)
• Faculty of Mediterranean Archaeology (prof. dr. D. Yntema, Free University Amsterdam)
• Faculty of Geological and Biological Archaeology (Prof. dr. H. Kars, Free University Amsterdam)
• Faculty of History (prof. dr. W. Fritschy, Free University Amsterdam)
• Faculty of Archaeology (University Leiden)
• ArcheoPro prospective research
• Archaeological Service Centre (ADC)

Subsidies and grants will be requested for in The Netherlands.
The Moroccan government has been requested to contribute to this project with materials, housing, security, gates and entrances, PR, Education and Infrastructure.