Surveys for the Cooperation to Protect Cultural Heritage in Bahrain
We, the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) visited the Kingdom of Bahrain in the Middle East from July 22nd to 25th. We discussed starting a new cooperation project with the Bahrain National Museum and made onsite surveys on the status of ruins targeted in this cooperation project. Specifically, Dr. Salman Al Mahari, Director General of the museum, requested that we support establishing conservation techniques for historically valuable gravestones of the early Islamic period, which were left in mosques, shrines, and graveyards. Responding to his request, we checked the conservation environments of the gravestones left in Al Khamis Mosque, the oldest mosque in Bahrain, and Abu Anbra graveyard located near Al Khamis Mosque. As a result of these surveys, we decided to start the cooperation by three-dimensional measurements of gravestones using photogrammetry and LiDAR scanning.
At the same time, three parties: the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, TOBUNKEN, and the Institute for the Study of Ancient Civilizations and Cultural Resources, Kanazawa University are working to set up a new research center in the Bahrain National Museum and develop international cooperation activities based in this center so as to promote archaeological research and protection of cultural heritage in Bahrain and neighboring countries. We discussed with Dr. Salman the foundation policy of this center. Further, we informed the Japanese ambassador in Bahrain of our progress and promised to continue closely sharing information.