QuarryScapes first symposium in Antalya, Turkey

The first QuarryScapes symposium took place at Divan Talya hotel in Antalya (Turkey) 15-17 October 2006. 23 participants from the project partners and a keynote speaker attended the symposium. The first day was reserved for 14 papers presenting the progress in the various case studies and Work Packages of the project. These included provenance studies in Jordan and Turkey, archaeological and geological studies in Egypt, database and GIS-work in Egypt and finally presentations on various issues related to conservation and presentation of quarry landscapes. The presentations were followed next day by a field visit to the mainly Hellenistic and Roman town of Sagalassos, including the archaeological excavations of the monumental part of the town and some of the many small quarries surrounding it. The final day was reserved for a keynote lecture on the ancient limestone and sandstone quarries along the Nile Valley by Professor Jim Harrell of the University of Toledo (USA). The risks to these quarries, as well as thoughts on their preservation were also discussed in the lecture. The business meeting of the project also took place on the final day.

A big thanks to Dr. Patrick Degryse of the K.U. Leuven (Belgium) for organising a successful symposium and for guiding the QuarryScapes team around Sagalassos!

The proceedings (extended abstracts) of the symposium will soon be available in the publications section of this website.

Text by Per Storemyr

The participants of the first QuarryScapes symposium at Sagalassos. Photo: Per Storemyr.
Two sarcophagi carved out of the bedrock in the quarries surrounding the ancient town of Sagalassos. The excavated (by K.U. Leuven) town can be seen in the background. Photo: Per Storemyr.
Jim Harrell (standing) during his keynote lecture on ancient limestone and sandstone quarries along the Nile Valley. Photo: Per Storemyr.