Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and Penn officials are on the verge of finalizing an agreement to resume archaeological cooperation after a 26-year hiatus.
"It's a very general agreement in which we agree in principle to cooperate with each other," said History of Art professor Holly Pittman, who is also a curator in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
The agreement with the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research -- which is still in development -- is slated to last for five years. Delays resulted from the changeover of the Iranian government, following their June elections.
Pittman, who initiated this process of re-establishing a link with archaeologists in Iran, started working there years ago and is now cooperating with an Iranian colleague in excavations at the archaeological center of Jiroft.
"We're optimistic that we will be able to continue to do our archaeological work in Iran," she said.
University Museum Research Specialist and Boston University assistant professor Michael Danti has also been involved in excavations in Iran.
"Things are opening up, but it's at a very slow pace," said Danti, a Penn alumnus who has been working with Bob Dyson, the museum's former director, in publishing excavations at Hasanlu in Iranian Azerbaijan.
He is now involved with an Iranian archaeologist in the excavations at Tepe Sialk.
"I would love to see this agreement in place. It gives me the reassurance that I can go back year after year and invest the time and resources into a long-term project," Danti added. "It could lead to other academic exchanges between our institutions."
Besides providing easier access for people like Pittman and Danti, the agreement would allow for joint excavations at ancient sites in Iran, student exchanges between Iran and the University of Pennsylvania and opportunities for Iranian archaeologists to participate in the University's studies in other parts of the world.
The University museum has been active for many years in Iran, dating back to the 1930s, and has large collections from many of those excavations.
The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago -- which has also been involved with Iran since the '30s -- also signed an agreement with CHTO. Very few institutions have a similar agreement in place.
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