The Gerda Henkel Foundation has included 37 new research projects worldwide in its funding programme. At its Spring meeting, the Foundation made available a total sum of a good EUR 4.1 million to this end. All in all, applications from scholars from 22 different countries were approved. The spectrum ranges from underwater archaeology off the Sardinian Island of Sant’Antioco through to conservation of a 20^th-century photographic collection in the Andes in Peru.

 Example I: Underwater archaeology off the coast of Sardinia

Sardinia is renowned for its prehistoric stone towers, or Nuraghe as they are called. However, knowledge of the Nuragic culture has hitherto derived above all from archaeological sites on land. A team from the Universities of Haifa and Bochum wants to change this state of things and make certain that in future the maritime infrastructure of the Italian island region is likewise incorporated into the research. To this end, the scholars will investigate harbours, anchorages, and shipwrecks on or off the Sardinian Island of Sant’Antioco. They hope that two underwater exploration campaigns will provide insights into how important the Mediterranean was for people in the period from 1500 to 800 BCE and in what way the sea influenced Nuragic culture.

Example II: The “Horacio Ochoa Collection” in Cusco, Peru

The Fototeca Andina in the former Inca city of Cusco is one of Peru’s most important non-government cultural institutions. It has set itself the task of preserving endangered photo archives as part of the country’s cultural heritage, is active in teaching and research, and has its own publication company. Part of its collection is the photographic estate of Horacio Ochoa, who exhibited worldwide, and in his work recorded life in Cosco. His images cover important events, celebrations, urban vistas, and the local inhabitants. The “Horacio Ochoa Collection” consists of more than 8,000 negatives and the plan is to conserve and digitize them. Moreover, in the form of an exhibition, a book, and a festival Fototeca Andina seeks to help ensure that the oeuvre of Ochoa, who died in Cusco in 1978, remains very much alive.