In cooperation with the local antiquity services, the project has integrated field interviews into the analysis of results from fieldwork. A set of questions systematically submitted to specific members of the local communities aims to gather information on the changes of the urban landscape and land-use. The results have provided unique insights into the living relationship with cultural and historical places in their surroundings and established a depository for the cultural memory of local individuals and communities.
The active involvement of these local communities in the shared methods and objectives of the project also facilitates access to the sites, which often belong to private properties, and enables a medium for the direct cooperation between the Antiquity Service and the people of Koya.
While many archaeological remains are visible through surface surveys or on satellite images, historical events of the recent past have often left a noticeable impact on the current cultural landscapes of the region. Systematic interviews, conducted in cooperation with the History Department of Koya University, aim to record these recent historical processes as part of a multi-media archive. The co-operation with Michael Thevenin (IFPO Erbil), engaged in the mapping of seasonal transhumance of Kurdish tribes in the region of Koya, adds a wider ethnological dimension to the interviews.
This approach to the study of the territory will identify specific sites as places of common memory and hopes to support the continuing dialogue with Iraqi scholars on the historical reflections of cultural heritage.