Jessica S. Johnson and Glenn Wharton
Abstract
In recent years Turkey has been a destination for many American conservators. Several large excavations have trained numerous students and more and more smaller excavations are including conservators as part of their teams. This paper will examine the reasons why so many conservators are working in Turkey. Various topics to be discussed include: historical and academic perspectives on conservation in the region, permit requirements for foreign excavations, monetary support, development of professional conservation and training in Turkey, programs to develop interaction between foreign and Turkish conservators and between conservators and archaeologists. As well as the positive aspects of archaeological conservation in Turkey, problems and limitations will be described Finally, ideas for how some of these ideas might be translated to improve support for conservation on American excavations will be outlined.