The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria is to spend $127,000 on the digital documentation and conservation of Busanyin Shrine located in the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove.

The $127,000 grant was awarded to CyArk, a California-based non-profit, through the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).

Speaking at the signing of the project’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Monday in Lagos, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, said the grant supports the preservation of major ancient archaeological sites.

Administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the AFCP also preserves historic buildings, monuments and museum collections that are accessible to the public and protected by law in their host country.

“Today, we’re proud to be launching our 2020 AFCP award to digitally document and conserve the Busanyin shrine located within the Osun Osogbo sacred grove,” Ms Leonard said.

She said CyArk and its local partners were awarded the grant to “help document a series of shrines in the sacred grove and provide training to local professionals to build capacity and digital documentation skills and cultural heritage management.”

Ms Leonard said the Busanyin Shrine, one of eight monuments within the grove, had been significantly damaged throughout the years due to extreme flooding.

She added the U.S. and Nigeria were finalising a bilateral agreement to restrict the importation of prohibited items of cultural property into the U.S.

This agreement would see public and private cultural institutions and law enforcement agencies in both countries working together on repatriating trafficked objects and fostering cultural exchanges.

(NAN)