August 10 (THEWILL) – The sight is all too familiar in historical towns and ancient cities around the world: of men and women, mostly American or European in hard hats, khaki shorts, jungle boots, camping in designated sites, digging up the earth, chiseling, scraping and dusting up found objects and artefacts.
Assisted by hordes of natives, they beaver away from sunup till sundown, uncovering evidence of what life was hundreds of years before, the cultural practices and social preferences of those who lived at the time. Through their effort, we get to know much about the past, relevance to the present and the need to keep them for future generations.
The result of their effort most often end up in museums where they are kept for educational purposes, scientific studies or as national treasures. So, when news got around this week of a collabo between Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) Benin City in Nigeria and School of Archeology Oxford University London in England, the art community erupted in jubilation. It was not hard to see why.
“The Museum of West African Art in Nigeria and Oxford University’s School of Archaeology today announced a collaboration to build a centre of archaeological excellence in West Africa”, a reliable source told THEWILL, “with the aim of telling the narrative of the region’s past from an African perspective and developing student pathways for the long-term benefit of research.”
A Trust established in 2019 as a not-for-profit foundation incorporated as a company limited by guarantee (like many educational and not-for-profit organisations in Nigeria), EMOWAA is the promoter of the planned MOWAA with a Creative District and Pavilion building under construction and near completion.
According to Ore Disu, Director of the Pavilion, “This partnership with Oxford University sets us on an ambitious path to establish a centre of excellence for archaeological science, materials science and conservation in West Africa. Our collaboration will strengthen the pipeline for African-centered scholarship, with the view to unearth the sophistication of our shared past and power new ideas about our possible futures.”
The research programme will be led by Professor Shadreck Chirikure, Oxford’s Edward Hall Professor of Archaeological Science, who also serves as an Advisor to MOWAA. This partnership will help build a strong foundation for the future of the Pavilion through three core elements. The first is Skills development aimed at creating a bespoke scholarship programme on the MSc and DPhil Archaeological Science degrees. It will also help create a pipeline to meet the staffing needs of the Pavilion and provide opportunities for those interested in the archaeology of West Africa to conduct studies with access to resources from both institutions.
The second is World-leading research on West African archaeology. This partnership launches the West African Empires Archaeological project, a multi-year interdisciplinary investigation that brings together archaeology, art, history and biological conservation. The findings from excavations and supportive studies are expected to underpin exhibitions, publications and community dialogue to enhance the global profile and advance the academic field of West African ecological and cultural heritage.
The collabo will also make provisions for State-of-the-art analysis, availing the Pavilion with a cutting-edge facility for the benefit of all West Africa and beyond. The first set of equipment for the materials lab is being provided through the support of the Gerda Henkel Foundation in Germany. Whilst the Pavilion is being established, Oxford’s School of Archaeology research laboratories will help MOWAA get a head-start on archaeological analysis by utilising the existing capacity within the school. The Pavilion’s research leads will draw on the expertise and first-hand experience of their Oxford counterparts to develop and manage their upcoming lab facilities.
“This partnership sets an example of how transformative collaboration in research and capacity building can establish a centre of excellence with equal benefits to everyone”, Chirikure said.
“Unlike other partnerships, which only extract archaeology samples from Africa and leave the continent with no training and no access to publications by local scholars, this initiative provides an enriching and mutually beneficial relationship that will sustain both institutions into the future.”
Once begun, the source maintained, “the school will act as a hub for the advanced analysis requirements of the Pavilion, associated archaeological investigations and the museum. Included in the project will be leading specialists in the fields of: Paleoenvironmental science, Material Science, Bioarchaeology, Precision chronology and Specialist mapping.”
Professor Amy Bogaard, Head of the School of Archaeology, had this to say on the joint effort: “This is an exciting opportunity for the School of Archaeology to engage with new research in Benin and West Africa and to help train a new generation of archaeologists working in the region.”
The Creative District will encompass multiple buildings and green spaces where MOWAA will collect, preserve, and display works from the artistic heritage of West Africa and contemporary West Africa. It will provide artist-in-residence facilities and exhibition spaces for today’s West African artists and infrastructure, research, education and capacity-building opportunities for scholars and creative professionals across West Africa.
This archaeological, cultural and scientific research institute will be housed in the Pavilion, the first building within MOWAA’s Creative District, located in the centre of Benin City. Through this joint initiative, students from West African countries, or who have demonstrated a strong academic interest in West African archaeology and heritage, will benefit from access to Oxford’s world-leading graduate courses in archaeological science.
So, with the joint effort between MOWAA and Oxford, the sight of men and women shovelling mounds and mounds of earth will remain, but with a little difference. The archeologists might just turn out to be the natives themselves, digging up their own backyards and burial sites, telling and interpreting their own stories for the rest of the world.
About the Author
Michael Jimoh is a Nigerian journalist with many years experience in print media. He is currently a Special Correspondent with THEWILL.
