Metropolitan Museum New York

Several-ton Khachkar in the spotlight

For the last 20 years, hasenkamp has been regularly working with Jordan in order to package and transport archaeological discoveries from all parts of the country for worldwide exhibitions. Many museums and excavation sites that contain valuable exhibits are hard to reach, and often can be accessed only with all-terrain vehicles. Even though great infrastructural improvements have been made in Jordan in the past few years, work on site continues to be a logistical challenge.

Fifteen years ago, the "Old Petra Museum" was in a rock cave 150 m above the valley, and could only be reached via a dirt road and natural steps. Hasenkamp brought stone fragments, weighing up to 220 kg, out of this museum and into the valley by hand, so that the exhibits could then be packed in crates that were made in advance in our in-house carpentry facility in Germany, after which they were shipped to New York for the exhibition "The World Between Empires" in the MET.

Moreover, after the new Petra Museum was opened in March 2019, hasenkamp transported several exhibits from the previous museum, with the removal from the old museum remaining a logistical challenge as before, since often the transport routes are lacking necessary infrastructure and objects have to be carried over steps by hand.

Special
challenges

  • Initial transportation of the assets
  • Construction of a separate packing area
  • Transportation of equipment to Armenia by truck
  • Organization of a double flight change