The Pisa-Akko Conservation Program
The Annual Conservation Symposium
The Acre Traditional Wares Project
The Summer Internship
Students Projects
Students

Ongoing and Former Programs

Students


Hannah Siegel is a senior at Brandeis University majoring in Anthropology. With the help of MASA funding, she was inspired to join the 'Saving the Stones program in Acre.

"As an Anthropology student I have read countless ethnographies written by my professors detailing their experiences uncovering the past and the cultures of various eras and people around the world. I have spent much of my college career in awe of the dedication, knowledge and creativity that they possess such that it has enabled them to understand a culture on such an intimate level. I looked toward the end of school with dread and a fear that I would never be able to gather the tools necessary to experience something like this. The Saving the Stones program, however, has been (if you will forgive the pun) a brilliant stepping-stone in my path. Upon my arrival in Acre my taxi driver pointed out an excavation that seemed to be straight out of a film. To my surprise, 4 days later I was informed that the next morning we would join their team. I have had the privilege of interacting (broken Hebrew to broken English) with minds privy to the details of the remains of countless time periods and people. This project transitioned first into a day in the lab piecing together ancient pottery and then to a documentation project, which we affectionately referred to as "the hole." To my surprise, we were given the essentials of what we would need to know and then left to our own devices. It was at this point that my fellow interns and I realized how lucky we were to have experience in fields ranging from architecture to archaeology to art conservation and that these skills cultivated a warm and comfortable forum in which we asked questions and bounced ideas off of each other and were able to create a series of documents detailing walls from every angle. Under the direction of so many elite professionals we have truly embraced the philosophy that one can learn something new every day in Acre. It is only through their guidance and this unique avenue that I have been able to gain confidence in my skills and my ability to uncover and understand the stories that are waiting to be told."


Kelly Clonts is in the Class of 2011 of the Department of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

"Working for the International Conservation Center, we've gotten to try a little bit of everything. We live right in the Old City of Acre, so we get to experience the city's modern day culture all around us. Through the program, we were introduced to the history of Acre by touring around the famous sites, such as the Nights Hall and the Turkish Bath. However, we got to really know the history by working along with the archaeologists, engineers, and architects of ICC, as they showed us what they do and gave us the opportunity to participate in their work. Within the first week of being in Acre, we got the chance to participate in a rescue excavation, uncovering Crusader, Byzantine, and Ottoman pottery as we removed the earth around some of the history that has been long-hidden under the city. During this dig, we labeled the pottery found, a transition job into the next assignment we were given. This was to sort through a variety of pottery shards, finding similar pieces, and putting together matching puzzle pieces of ceramics, we saw a different side of the excavation process. This was just the first two weeks of our project, participating on each step of the conservation project, understanding the process, and getting to work with amazing professionals. While doing this, I've gotten to know both the historic and modern stories of an exciting part of Israel, and be part of the bridging process that brings these stories together.


Danielle Bersch, an alumnus of the American University of Paris where she studied Art History. After participating in 'Saving the Stones' she will begin her Masters degree in Architecture at Virginia Tech.

"For anyone interested in history and the preservation of cultural heritage Acre is a fascinating place to study. It is possible to really feel that the work you are doing is contributing to the conservation of a very historically significant place. Even beyond the practical training we are receiving, I am confident that what I am learning here will benefit me as a student when I return to school, and later on as a professional. It is a truly unique opportunity to work with such knowledgeable people. As a student, you get a completely different perspective than you do when you are studying out of a textbook".


Yonatan Rosen is a graduate of Hampshire College, Amherst

I signed up because I wanted to gain a hands-on perspective on conservation work in the field, having done my undergraduate research on the theory and history of historic preservation. I plan to continue this research during graduate school.

Right now, the program has five participants who come from very different perspectives. The two other Americans, Ali and Gail, studied interior design and medieval studies respectively. Fouad, who is an Arab Christian from Akko, is studying architecture at the Technion, and Nir, an Israeli, used to work in high tech, but is now working in ecological building techniques.

We're each developing independent projects to correspond with our interests. We've been given incredible access to everyone at the Israel Antiquities Authority, including conservation architects, field archeologists and public archaeologists like Shelley and Nirit. Akko is incredibly complex politically, socially and historically. There is archaeological evidence from the bronze age and the Biblical, Hellenistic, Crusader, Mamaluk, Ottoman and British Mandate periods. On top of that, Akko is among the few cities in Israel where Arabs and Jews live side by side.


Alison Hortig, Graduate of the Art Institute of Colorado

I personally have two degrees already, the latest being in Interior Design with a focus in historical architecture and interiors, so this program has increased my interest in the first dramatically and really expanded my knowledge of the field immensely (and it's really only been a month!). I am seriously considering staying in Israel when the program is completed (which was something I was about 90% sure of before beginning the program), having this opportunity to live, work, and travel throughout the country has really helped solidify that. However, if I were to move back to the states and pursue professional interests, I am sure that I would have a huge advantage over any of my competitors at educational level in the field of historic preservation and design.