Team and Partners
A multinational team of archaeologists and communicators — many of whom grew up professionally at Urkesh itself.
Federico Buccellati
Director & Project Lead — UK
Archaeologist and director of IIMAS-CHCE. Expert in archaeological site management, ancient construction and digital heritage; leads the institute's projects and partnerships across the region.
Amer Ahmed
Archaeologist — Syria
Focuses on heritage education and outreach, developing programs that bring archaeology into classrooms and community spaces.
Samer Abdel Ghafour
Archaeologist — Italy
IT and communication specialist. Designs the digital side of our engagement, from web platforms to on-site QR systems.
Rasha el-Endari
Archaeologist — Canada
Specialist in Near Eastern archaeology; supports research, documentation and outreach across our projects.
Hiba Qassar
Archaeologist — Italy
Specialist in heritage and community engagement; coordinates international collaboration and partnerships.
Yasmine Mahmoud
Archaeologist — Syria
Leads cultural heritage documentation and site conservation work, keeping our presence at Tell Mozan active and informed.
Montasir Qasim
Archaeologist — Syria
Coordinates school outreach and public engagement with the communities around our Syrian sites.
Hemrin Omo
Archaeologist — Syria
Born and raised in the Mozan area, she went on to study archaeology and now works in digital documentation for our projects.
Viktoriia Leiba
Graphic Design — Italy
Designs the layout and graphics of our publications, panels and posters.
Photographs coming soon.
Partner organizations
AVASA
Associazione per la Valorizzazione dell'Archeologia e della Storia Antica
Our sister organization for projects originating in the EU. IIMAS and AVASA work hand in hand, regularly sharing staff and resources, while remaining two distinct institutions.
UHA
Urban Heritage Association — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Our local partner in Saudi Arabia, working with us on projects in the Kingdom and the Gulf region.