Professor Graham Philip - Durham University

Director

Graham Philip came to heritage protection from a background in landscape archaeology and through interest in long-term aspects of human-environment interactions in Western Asia.  Through his survey work in the Orontes Valley region of Syria undertaken between 1999 and 2010, Graham developed an expertise in the integration of use of remote sensing techniques for the identification and mapping of archaeological sites, and in undertaking condition assessments – with field survey.  In 2016 Graham joined the team of Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa, (EAMENA), where he used these skills to lead the work of the project in the present-day countries of Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.

With the support of grants from the Cultural Protection Fund of the British Council, (CPF) the EAMENA project was able to spread knowledge of these techniques by delivering a programme of training and support to staff of national heritage agencies.  In this role, with the Durham team worked with partners the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Iraq and the Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanon.  A new round of CPF funding announced in November 2022 will allow the team to extend training to researchers monitoring threats to heritage in Syria, and to staff of the General Directorate of Antiquities & Heritage, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. 

Affiliated research