The Zamani Project is a non-profit initiative that works closely with academic and cultural institutions globally. The project’s operating costs (field work expenses not included) are presently funded through the independent “Zamani African Cultural Heritage Sites Trust", which was established by the Philanthropist and UCT Alumni Duncan Saville.
Funds for field work at individual sites have to be found on an ad hoc basis. To date, UNESCO, the World Monuments Fund, the Getty Conservation Institute, the German Archaeological Institute, the Gerda Henkel Foundation as well as individual researchers and academics have provided funds for a number of projects.
Support is also provided by the german instrument manufacturer Z+F (Zoller und Froehlich) and the software company Capturing Reality.
Financial support
Financial support for the Zamani Project is needed to carry out further urgent documentation projects and any contribution towards the project would be greatly appreciated. The spatial data acquired by the Zamani Project will be available upon request for research and/or education as well as restoration and conservation projects, provided the use is non-commercial.
If there are specific sites important to your organisation or if there is a general intention to support a relevant site or a site under threat, Zamani can provide a package project to document the site and provide the data and support material required to record the site for the future. The processed data of that site will be recognised and labeled with your Sponsorship.
Zamani has a number of collections of sites that together tell a story or can be viewed as a single gallery experience. Such a collection is the “Atlantic Slave Trade” collection (www.zamaniproject.org/slavetrade), which would benefit from the addition of further sites. Some start-up data for additional sets have already been collected, examples for these are the “Monuments of Petra”, “African Rockart”, “Adobe Mosques and buildings in the Sahel”, “Churches of Ethiopia” and the “Pyramids of Sudan”.
Possible new collections could be “Monuments of the African Iron Age”, “Mosques of the East African Coast” or Britsh or German Colonial Buildings”. Such collections can be sponsored along with the lecture materials on each, that provide for a powerful viewer experience in a corporate, arts or cultural setting.
Zamani can provide a variety of packages to support the heritage and conservation goals important to your organisation.
2004 - 2012
The Zamani Project was initiated in 2004 at the University of Cape Town by Prof. Heinz Ruther, and funded through a Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to Prof Ruther covering the project period 2004 until 2012.
The Andrew W. Mellon Grant covered the salaries of team members, running expenses and most field campaigns during this period.
2005 - 2008
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Rock-Hewn Churches in Lalibela,
Ethiopia
2006
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Wonderwerk Cave, Norther Cape,
South Africa
2007
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Valley of the Queens in Luxor,
Egypt
2009
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Swahili monuments on Kilwa Kisiwani
& Songo Mnara,
Tanzania
2009
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Temple Complex in Musawwarat es Sufra,
Sudan
2010
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Game Pass shelter in the Drankensberg,
South Africa
2011 - 2014
Funding for the spatial documentation of Petra during 8 field campaigns, as a part of the UNESCO Siq Stability Project. In cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DOA) and the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA).
Jordan
2011
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Swahili monuments on Kilwa Kisiwani
& Songo Mnara,
Tanzania
2013 - Present
2013 - PRESENT
THE SAVILLE FOUNDATION
The operating costs of the Zamani Project are presently funded through the independent “Zamani African Cultural Heritage Sites Trust", which was established by the Philanthropist and UCT Alumni Duncan Saville.
2013
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Yemrehanna Kristos Church,
Ethiopia
2014
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Klasies River Cave, Tsitikamma Coast,
South Africa
2014
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Berber village in M'Zien (LEMZEYN) & the Berber-Roman City in Djemila,
Algeria
2015
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Pyramid Field in Meroe,
Sudan
2016
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the House of Slaves, Villa Victoria Albis & Fort d'Estrées, slave island, Île de Gorée, Senegal.
2017
Funding for the spatial documentation of
Temples and Stupas in Bagan,
Myanmar
2017
Funding for the Spatial documentation of Cape Town City Hall and the Nelson Mandela Statue in Cape Town, South Africa
2018
Funding for the spatial documentation of
Fassil Ghebbi in Gondar,
Ethiopia.
2018
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Swahili monuments on Kua, Juani Island,
Tanzania
2018
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Temple Complex in Musawwarat es Sufra,
Sudan.
2019
Funding for the spatial documentation of
the Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape,
South Africa
2019
Funding for the spatial documentation of the House of Wonders in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania completed in cooperation with the Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority (STCDA).
2020
Funding for the spatial documentation of
Polonnaruwa & Medirigiriya,
Sri Lanka.
2020
A Virtual Tour of the Boonstra Dioramas Exhibition.
In cooperation with Claire Browning, research Scientist and Curator of the Karoo Palaeontology collections at Iziko South African Museum.
2020
Black Monuments Matter - A Virtual Exhibition of Sub-Saharan Architecture.
In cooperation with the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations, Aga Khan University, London (AKU-ISMC).
2020
A Virtual Tour of the Tata Madiba Exhibition
In cooperation with Dr Melissa Boonzaaier-Davids, assistant curator (Marine Invertebrates) at the Iziko South African Museum.
2021
Funding Saville Foundation. Spatial documentation of the House of Wonders in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Completed in cooperation with the Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority (STCDA) and UNESCO.
2021
Funding for the spatial documentation of the Bokoni Stone Enclosures in Blaauwboschkraal, South Africa. In cooperation with the Department of Architecture at Tshwane University of Technology.
2021
Funding Saville Foundation and University of Pilsen. Spatial documentation of Jumba La Mtwana and Mnarani in Kenya. Completed in cooperation with the National Museum of Kenya (NMK) and the University of Pilsen.
2021
Funding for the spatial documentation of the Old Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
2021
Funding for the spatial documentation of the Bunce Island Fort, Sierra Leone.
2021
Funding for the spatial documentation of the West Coast Fossil Park, South Africa.
2021
Funding for the spatial documentation of Mapungubwe Hill, South Africa.
2021
Funding for the creation of animation videos for the Dubai Expo 2021 of the following South African heritage sites/structures:
- Cape Town City Hall & Nelson Mandela Statue
- Bokoni Stone Enclosures in Blauboschkraal
- West Coast Fossil Park
- Wonderwerk Cave
- Mapungubwe Hill
2022
Funding for the creation of a Virtual Tour of famous structures in Petra by Epic-Games. In cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DOA) and the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA).
