2025 - Khan Marjan Community Archaeology Project, by Mehair Kathem & Caroline Sandes
Khan Marjan is a fourteenth century caravanserai in the heart of historic Baghdad. It has survived in comparatively good condition, and was in use right up to the late 1980s – as a warehouse, as a museum and then as a restaurant – before it was finally closed due to persistent water problems. It is now the centre of a major conservation project being carried out by Liwan for Culture and Development in conjunction with the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Iraq, and funded by Aliph (Geneva).
This project will provide additional information on Khan Marjan’s earlier phases through the excavation of a trench containing Ottoman artefacts and possibly Abbasid pottery. In addition, given the importance of the site, the complete dearth of archaeological excavations in historic Baghdad, and the obvious potential of what lies under Khan Marjan’s concrete flooring layers, this is a unique and rare opportunity to examine a small part of Baghdad’s medieval Islamic past.
It also includes a public archaeology component to generate a wider interest not only in the khan itself but in Baghdad’s Islamic past. This will take the form of an exhibition, organised tours and/or talks for the local community of the adjoining souks and for local schools and archaeological students.
Mehair Kathem is Deputy Director and Co-ordinator for the Nahrein Network, at University College London, University of London and Director of Liwan for Culture and Development CIC.
