The A to Z of the Athena Project of Ancient Theaters
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The document outlines the ATHENA Project, which aims to enhance ancient theaters in the Euro-Med region. It discusses each partner country involved (A-I) and sites being studied (J-S). The project seeks to document sites using 3D scanning, develop a thesaurus of architectural terms, and create a management plan to protect cultural heritage while allowing public use. It is divided into work packages to set frameworks, build a knowledge base, create sustainability strategies, and manage/disseminate the project.
The A to Z of the Athena Project of Ancient Theaters
- 1. The A to Z of the ATHENA Project A is for ancient theaters, those time immemorial structures built by the Greek and Romans and A is for Algeria, one of the countries taking part in the Ancient Theaters Enhancement for New Actualities, ATHENA Project. B for Belgium, the capital and of the home of the European Union, the donor of regional projects in the Euromed Heritage Program 4. C is for the Cherchall Theater, north of Algiers, a site that goes back to the 10 th Century BC. It’s in need of extensive conservation to bring it back to its former glory. Conservation is a major element for the renewal of ancient theaters and ensure their future. D is for 3D digital laser scanning, documentation and halting the progressive decay that ancient theaters are subjected to. Such 3D scanning was used in Petra, Jarash, Qasir Amra, Amman Odeon and Amman Roman Theater. A latest laser scanner and total station were donated to the Department of Antiquities in Jordan, which is the team leader of the ATHENA Project, and started surveying different sites including the Merida, Carthage, Cherchell and Siracusa Theaters. Also, Dipartimento di Storia dell'Architettura, Restauro e Conservazione dei Beni Aschitettonici e stato of the Sapienza Universita di Roma which is the Leader responsible for the ATHENA objectives in Italy and following up on the Siracusa site. E is for Euromed Heritage Program 4 of the European Commission, the donor who is funding the ATHENA Project under its Euromed Heritage Program 4. Euromed Heritage supports cultural heritage through preservation, conservation and seeks to build a culture of dialogue between countries across the Mediterranean. F stands for facebook which the ATHENA Project has an active page on. Many articles, news items and photographs of activities to do with ancient theaters are posted on the page as part of the full use of the social media network which includes twitter feeds that are also posted on facebook and very important elements for visibility and dissemination. G is for Greek theatre, the structure that proceeded the Roman Theater and lead to its continuation under the Roman Empire. Excluding Siracusa, the ancient structures under study are all Roman. H is for heritage, a key word in the ATHENA Project, that stresses the key values of the ancient theaters in the Euromed region. The ATHENA Project has message to protect heritage including the fact ancient theaters have cultural, aesthetic, artistic, heritage and civilizational values, are part of the community, used in proper ways, requiring a
- 2. management plan, they are for everyone and not for the privileged and they should be used for many activities. I is for the Institut aux Etudes Litteraires et de Sciences Humaines de Tunis of the University of Tunis which is the Team Leader responsible for the ATHENA objectives in Tunisia and following up on the Carthage site. J is for the archaeological town of Jarash, north Amman, Jordan. One of the sites being studied in the ATHENA Project is the South Theater under Work Package 3 designed for assessment and risk factors. Jarash is the pilot site for the management plan drawn up by the Spanish partner. K is for knowledge, the important concept in the ATHENA Project that seeks to collect and document extensive information regarding ancient theaters. These involve different forms of knowledge including historical, data collection, technical and digital scanning and photography. L is the Labo Bati Dans l'Environment in University of Science and Technology, Houari Boumediene, which is the Leader responsible for the ATHENA objectives in Algeria and following up on the Cherchell site. M is for the Merida Theater in Spain. M also stands for the Management Plan which Spain under leader Universidad Politécnica de Valencia - Instituto Universitario de Restauración del Patrimonio, is drawing up to be implemented in Jarash N is for the ATHENA Project Newsletter, one of the flagship of visibility and disseminating the ATHENA Project results. The Newsletter has been published on a regular basis both in print and posted on line and is sent directly to unique visitors through email and via email to specialized institutions and personnel all over the world. O for the Odeon theatre in Amman, one of the places undertaken where an ATHENA training workshop was undertaken on the 3 D laser scanner between 20-24 May, 2012. The Odeon is a min-ancient theatre adorned with architectural trappings. P is for Petra, Jordan, one of the sites studied in the ATHENA Project. P is also for the Project Management which is part of Work Package 6 which takes place from the Department of Antiquities in Jordan that coordinates between all the Euromed partners in the ATHENA Project in their work actions for the enhancement of ancient theaters. Q is for the numerous questionnaires that have been made by the ATHENA Partner countries and institutes and filled through surveys and sent back to the Spanish partner to
- 3. be form the basis of the Management Plant for ancient theaters that is going to be pilot tested in Jarash. R is for the Regional Support and Monitoring Unit (RSMU) of the European Commission that is responsible for overseeing the ATHENA Project. Safeguarding against the reversal of theatre risk against progressive decay because of environmental and human factors. S is for the Siracusa structure, the ancient theater in Sicily, Italy. It’s the only Greek theater in the ATHENA Project collective. As well S is for the South Theater of Jarash, one of the sites under study in the ATHENA Project T is for thesaurus, the architectural ancient theatre terms that have been collected, edited for publication into a book in different languages including English, Arabic, French and others. The thesaurus is being posted online on the www.athenaproject.com.eu website. U is for the proper and correct utilization of ancient theaters, to use them in a meaningful caring way, make use of these structures but protect them and hence help preserve them at the same time for future generations. V stands for visibility of the ATHENA Project and making people aware of its presence and objectives through the media—print, radio, television—and social media. Visibility also involves writing different articles, news items for newspapers and posting on different blogs. W is for Work Packages in the ATHENA Project carefully divided into six work packages: Work Package 1 of setting up a common and scientific cultural framework for the project, Work Package 2 of building up of a knowledge-based database and documentation and classification of raw scientific data digital scanning of theaters, Work Package 3 of creating sustainability strategies to minimize risk perception and mitigation to enable sites to have greater long-term potentials, Work Package 4 of drawing up a management plan, Work Package 5 of visibility and dissemination in society and communities and the communications world and Work Package 6 of managing and quality controlling the project. X Y Z