Welcome Letter
The 12th ICOM-CC WOAM (Wet Organic Archaeological Materials) Conference in:
Istanbul, TURKEYMay 13-17, 2013
You are kindly invited to participate in this conference which will be held in Istanbul University's Congress Centre and Eurasia Institute's Conference Hall at university's central campus. The university campus is located in the heart of an urban area called the “historic peninsula” which once served as the capital of three former empires. The most important monuments of the city such as the Haghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar are a short walking distance from the campus..
The conference will be hosted by Istanbul University`s Department of Conservation of Marine Archaeological Objects. The department is the only institution teaching conservation of wet organic archaeological material, with a particular focus on the conservation of waterlogged wooden artifacts, in Turkey. The department’ staff is also responsible for the fieldwork and conservation of 27 shipwrecks found during salvage excavations at a metro construction site in the Yenikapi district. Excavations have yielded the world’s largest group of medieval shipwrecks and thousands of wet organic artifacts.
In addition to the conference programme several activities will be organized including visits to the Yenikapi Excavation Site and to the exquisite collections of the recently rebuilt Naval Museum. A welcome reception on a boat along the Bosphorus strait, which crosses from the Asian to the European sides of the city, will follow the excursion. A guided tour of the city will also be offered to the participants on the last day of the programme.
Assoc.Prof. Dr. Ufuk Kocabaş
Local Organiser -Head of Department
Istanbul University Letters Faculty
Department of Conservation and Restoration of Artefacts
Division of Conservation of Marine Archaeological Objects
For official schedule please click here.
The National Museum of Denmark, the Conservation Department Laboratory in Brede
