MOSAIKON Final Report (pdf)

A strategic initiative dedicated to advancing the conservation, presentation, and management of archaeological mosaics in the Mediterranean region, MOSAIKON was launched in 2008 by the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), and the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM). Over the next fifteen years, with the collaboration of regional government authorities and an international group of conservation professionals and consultants, MOSAIKON helped prepare over two hundred decision-makers, site managers, museum professionals, and conservation technicians to protect and conserve the region’s extraordinary archaeological heritage.

This final report on the project summarizes MOSAIKON’s numerous accomplishments and contributions to the field. It documents the transformative effect that MOSAIKON—through training, capacity building, research, model projects, publications, and support for the professional community—has had on the region. It includes case studies from MOSAIKON’s training and capacity-building efforts in Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey and describes MOSAIKON’s model conservation project on the sustainable conservation of in situ mosaics at Bulla Regia. It identifies challenges, lessons learned, and future opportunities for the preservation of Mediterranean archaeological heritage, followed by appendices and a bibliography of publications, websites, videos, and didactic materials produced during MOSAIKON.

Political transitions, lack of economic resources, and the increasing impacts of climate change present serious challenges to the conservation of invaluable cultural heritage in this region. It is hoped that this summary of the landmark achievements of MOSAIKON will encourage future efforts to build upon MOSAIKON’s foundation and meet these challenges.