On-site Workshops on the Conservation of Historic Brick Buildings in Bagan and Participation in the 1st ICC Meeting
Since the August 2016 Chauk Earthquake in Myanmar, Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP) has been carrying out research and survey activities directed at improving the quality of the conservation work of the damaged historic brick buildings in Bagan, as part of a cooperation project commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Japanese Government (recommissioned by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, NNRICP). On November 13th and 14th, 2018, two workshops were held at the Myanmar Engineering Society (Yangon) and the Bagan Branch Office of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture) respectively, to share the results of this project with local experts.
Members of TNRICP and Japanese experts were lecturers at the workshops and they focused on three main topics: traditional brick masonry techniques, structural features of brick buildings, and chemical analysis of traditional mortar. In addition, local experts from each partner institution made presentations on the current state of conservation and repair works of brick buildings in Bagan. The workshops concluded with a questions and answers session and an opinion exchange between Japanese and local experts.
The results of this project will be published in a report and shared with the local experts so that they can be applied further to conservation and restoration work.
In addition, the Third Technical Coordination Forum for Safeguarding Bagan and the First International Coordination Committee (ICC) was held in Bagan on November 17th and 18th, 2018. The objective of the meeting, chaired by the Minister of Religious Affairs and Culture, was to share information and coordinate efforts between different local and foreign expert teams carrying out conservation work at Bagan. Experts from TNRICP took part in the meeting and made a presentation on the currently ongoing cooperation projects by TNRICP and NNRICP.