Publications

Bandyopadhyay, S., Quattrone, G., et al., 2011. Birkat al-Mawz Oasis World Heritage Site (Aflaj Irrigation System), Dakhiliyah Governorate: Documentation and Heritage Management and Development Plan. Harat as-Saybani.

Summary

This final report builds on the preliminary fieldwork and interim Master Plan report submitted in April and May 2011, respectively. Alongside providing a comprehensive drawn documentation resulting from the survey documentation undertaken between November 2010 and March 2011, this report provides strategic and implementation Master Plans addressing issues of heritage management, conservation and development.

The strategic Master Plan discusses areas and categories of development and conservation to be carried out, which builds on a statement of significance, and assessments of the state of conservation and the threats to heritage management at Hārat as-Saybanī. The report also includes a comprehensive inventory of structural and non-structural defects present at the settlement.

The Master Plan is informed by a comprehensive documentation, analysis and interpretation of the settlement structure, morphology, building typology and social conditions of the present and the immediate past. On this basis, a  culturally and technically informed Master Plan is proposed, which advocates a revitalization centred  on education, training and skill development programme focused on traditional knowledge of the built environment and the crafts. The intention is to move away from an entirely tourism focused development towards a more sustainable alternative. Key areas are identified for restoration, rebuilding, consolidation and redevelopment.