Creation of a Centre of Excellence for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage of the Eastern Mediterranean (MedSTACH)

At an information day hosted by the Archaeological Research Unit for museums and cultural heritage institutions, Phaedon Kyriakidis of the Cyprus University of Technology and Vasiliki Kassianidou of the University of Cyprus present the MedSTACH project (Eastern Mediterranean Science and Technology Center of Excellence for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage). Although announced under a Greek title, the presentations are given in English.

Kyriakidis explains the European Union Teaming for Excellence funding framework and how the proposal aligns with Cyprus's smart specialisation strategy, which links cultural heritage research with sustainable growth, job creation, digital technologies, and tourism. He outlines the consortium: the Cyprus University of Technology, the University of Cyprus, the Department of Antiquities, and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, paired with the Institute of Archaeology at University College London and the Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH) in Rethymnon, Crete, where the geophysical laboratory of Apostolos Sarris is based. Having passed Phase 1 with €400,000 for a one-year design study, the partners must prepare a business plan for Phase 2, which would provide €15 million in EU funding over seven years and an equal amount in state co-funding over fifteen years.

Kyriakidis then sets out the four research domains of the proposed autonomous centre: heritage exploration (remote sensing, aerial photography, geophysical prospection), spatial inference and analysis (GIS and geoanalytics), heritage protection (diagnostics and monitoring of standing monuments against natural and human hazards), and material characterisation, all supported by a dedicated Heritage ICT unit for digitization, metadata, and open data. He explains the need for concrete letters of commitment from local stakeholders to demonstrate long-term financial sustainability.

In the second presentation, Kassianidou describes how museums, foundations, and foreign archaeological missions in Cyprus can work with the new centre, which will operate in both Nicosia and Limassol and aims to employ up to 150 researchers. Focusing on material characterisation, she gives examples of past analytical work carried out at the Archaeological Research Unit with Evangeline Markou and Andreas Charalambous on gold coins for the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, as well as projects on metals, ceramics, and stone artefacts with the Cultural Foundation of Kykkos Monastery and the Leventis Municipal Museum. She concludes with planned initiatives in staff training, joint funding applications, doctoral scholarships studying museum collections, off-season cultural tourism, monitoring visitor pressure at archaeological sites, and earth observation to track urban sprawl and protect monuments.