Footnotes for Madaba Archaeological Park

1 M. Piccirillo, I mosaici di Giordania e la loro conservazione, ICCROM Newsletter 8, 1988, 18-27; Conservation and Preservation of Mosaic and Structures in Jordan, First Workshop on Museums and Conservation at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, October 26 to November 1 rst; Il Problema del restauro dei monumenti in Giodania, in Conservazione e Manutenzione di manufatti edilizi allo stato di rudere, Report 1, 1989, 73-s.
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2 M. Piccirillo, The Mosaics of Jordan, (American Center of Oriental Research Publications: Number One), Amman 1992.
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3 M. Piccirillo, Chiese e mosaici di Madaba, Jerusalem 1989.
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4 M. Picirrillo, La chiesa della Vergine a Madaba, Liber Annuus 32, 1982, 373-403.
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5 M. Piccirillo, A Note on the Church of the Virgin at Madaba, Jordan, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 24, 1980, 151-152.
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6 Cfr. Liber Annuus 32, 1982, p. 402 note 77; plate 82, fig. 13: "At the invitation of the Department of Antiquities, Architects Lino and Massimo Benedettucci from Rome, after spending some time at Mount Nebo, presented to Rd Adnan Hadidi and Mr. Michel Hamarneh, Director General of the Department of Antiquities, with a few ideas regarding the restoration of the area along the main Roman Road in the city. The project included the covering of the Church of the Virgin, The Crypt of Saint Elianus and the Roman Road. The project included a mosaic museum and a workshop for the restoration of antique mosaics".
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7 M. Piccirillo, Il Palazzo Bruciato di Madaba, Liber Annuus 36, 1986, 317-334; Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 30, 1986, 333-339.
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8 M. Piccirillo, I mosaici di Giordania, Rome 1986, with subsequent editions in German and French and a further two italian editions at Spilimbergo and Bergamo with partial translations in Danish and English. The exhibition, which has had a tremendous success with the public, has to date been shown in Italy (Rome-Spilimbergo, Bergamo-Malpaga), in Austria (Vienna and Klagenfurt), in Germany (Münster, Munich, Berlin and Ettlingen), in France (Lyons), in Denmark (Moesgard-Aarhus), in Iceland (Reykjavik), in England (London and Manchester).
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9 In the aide memoir presented by the Ministry of Tourism which bore the title The Holy Land Mosaic School Complex, the project was envisaged as a continuation of the work that had been started by the archaeologists of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum at Mount Nebo: "For the past 55 years, or since the Franciscan Fathers started work in the Mt. Nebo/Mukhayyat/Madaba region in 1932, Jordan and Italy have cooperated fruitfully in the field of archaeological excavations, mosaics restoration and historical research. The Memorial of Moses Church on Mt. Nebo, excavated, conserved and restored by successive Italian teams since the 1930's, stands as a monument to constructive cooperation that serves the interest of international scholars, Jordanian and foreign tourists, and Jordan's tourism industry and its contribution as a foreign exchange earner to the national balance-of-payments accounts. Continued discoveries of high quality, well preserved and increasingly important Byzantine mosaics in the greater Madaba region by Jordanian and Italian archaeologists have generated an urgent need to implement a more ambitious project. It would encompass several of the key antiquities sites in the area, and go a novel step beyond traditional antiquities preservation projects by linking ancient cultural traditions with contemporary objectives in social and economic development".
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10 Ministry of Tourism, Development of the Roman Road and its surroundings, Amman 2. 4. 1988. The project in the intentions of the writer, became ever more clear as follows: "
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11 On the history of modern Jordan updated to our present days, cfr. G. Benenati, La creazione di un nuovo stato nel territorio transgiordanico, in M. Picirrillo, I mosaici di Giordania, Bergamo 1991, 9-13.
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12 Dr. Thomas Dayley from USAID was our main contact. He has had a very important and decisive role in all the various phases of the project. To him go our heartfelt thanks. At this point of development of the project, a ministerial decree instituted a Royal Society for the Protection and Development of Madaba, whose aims were to take upon its shoulders future works to be carried out in the area.
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13 The work was entrusted to the School for the Restoration of Mosaic of Ravenna, the main interlocutor to the Madaba School which was being set up. In the Summer of 1990, two restorers, Sergio Pezzi and Antonio Vaccalluzzo undertook the detachment and removal of those parts of the mosaic that were in greatest danger. These were in the central nave of the church including the Sea Medallion, and the mosaics in the two side-chapels (Cfr. M. Picirrillo, Chiese e Mosaici di Madaba, 96-107).The financing made available by USAID includes the covering of the Church of the Apostles. When the works are completed, the mosaics will once again be put back in their original place.
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14 The continuation of the archaeological excavations have been entrusted to ACOR, under the direction of C. Lenzen, and to the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum.
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15 The new project which has now been extended to include rooms from a byzantine mansion which have been brought to light to the north of the church has been prepared by `Ammar Khammash. The project utilises traditional building techniques, maximising the use of the local labour force. This was in fact a condition to the financing of the project by USAID.
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16 The project of cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism of Jordan and the Italian Foreign Ministry has been prepared by Architect Claudio Cimino with the collaboration of Dot. Giovanni Benenati from the Italian Embassy in Amman. The areas which will be used to house the school are in an advanced state of restructuring and refurbishment. This work is being carried out by `Ammar Khammash.
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17 Their more renown works are: S. Saller, The Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo, I-II, Jerusalem 1941; S. Saller-B. Bagatti, The Town of Nebo (Khirbet al-Mekhayyat), With a Brief Survey of Other Christian Monuments in Transjordan, Jerusalem 1949.
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