The Department of Archaeology of the University of Ghana is to establish a museum to house all indigenous artifacts as a means of preserving the heritage of the country.

 

The project which forms part of the expansion of scope of department is being supported by the British Museum and the British Council among others.

 

Dr. Kodzo Gavua, Head of the Department who announced this in Accra yesterday said that the name of the Department would change to the Department of Cultural Heritage Studies to reflect the scope of expansion programme.

 

He was speaking at the launch of the first African Folk Music Festival (AFMUFEST) to be organized by the Legon Archaeology Students in Accra on March 31.

 

Dr. Gavua said that the Department will from the 2008/2009 academic year begin a peace and conflict management, tourism, visual and economics anthropologies as part of expanding the scope of the department.

 

“We will also start a master’s programme in museum and heritage studies, he added.

 

He noted that there “are so many aspects of material culture which are  fading away and therefore there is the need to document them in order not to loose them”.

 

He expressed the hope that the museum would be completed by the 2008/2009 academic year to facilitate the introduction of the new programmes.