Bureaucratic inertia stymies restoration work at Elephanta Caves in Mumbai Harbour

Elephanta Caves, a world heritage site on a small island in the Sea of Oman near Mumbai, boast an impressive archaeological legacy dating to the 2nd century BCE. Associated with the cult of Shiva, the caves feature rock carvings and sculptures.

While the prospect of electricity being brought to Elephanta Island prompted lots of publicity last year, money set aside for restoration work at the site in last year's budget has yet to translate into any concrete action.

Temple at Elephanta, 1907

  

While work at Elephanta Caves was supposed to include landscape restoration, installation of signage and interpretation centres, improved access for disabled people and improved visitors’ amenities, nothing has actually been done apart from a "project teport." In classic bureaucratic fashion, restoration work has reportedly been stymied by the fact that responsibility for the site overlaps between the Archaeological Survey of India and the Forest Department.

It is sad to think that red tape alone is enough to stop important restoration work, despite the required funds being available.

Consecration ceremony in Timbuktu to celebrate rehabilitation of destroyed medieval mausoleums

Some good news from Mali today with reports of a consecration ceremony held in Timbuktu on February 4, 2016 to mark the restoration of 14 medieval mausoleums destroyed by Islamist militants during their occupation of this world heritage site in 2012.

Djingareyber Mosque (credit: upyernoz)

Rehabilitation of the mausoleums began in March 2014, with local masons working under the supervision of the Imam of the Djingareyber Mosque and with support from UNESCO and the United Nations mission to Mali, known as MINUSMA.

Questionable restoration work threatens ancient pagoda at Myanmar's Mrauk-U

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Spanish philosopher George Santayana's words seem an apt characterization of the Myanmar Department of Archaeology as it pushes forward with questionable restoration work at Mrauk-U in Rakhine State. Mrauk-U was the capital of the Arakanese kingdom between the 15th to the 18th century, and boasts more 1,500 ancient pagodas.

Couloir-Koe-Thaung by Nils PERBET

As reported by the Myanmar Times this week, the Mrauk-U Heritage Trust has raised the alarm over the rebuilding of historic pagodas without regard for the original design, abandoning any pretence of historical authenticity. This follows on the heels of the reported destruction of part of the heritage zone some years ago for the construction of a railway.

While some continue to hold Mrauk-U as a potential world heritage site, the experience of Bagan does not offer much cause optimism. Impressive by any measure and undoubtedly one of Myanmar's top tourist attractions, Bagan's 1996 nomination as a world heritage was rejected by UNESCO, in part due to the prevalence of inauthentic restorations.

Pagodas at Bagan

We can only hope that the Rakhine State Government heeds the Mrauk-U Heritage Trust's warnings.

An uncertain road ahead for residents of Algiers' kasbah

On the shores of the Mediterranean, just a short flight from Western Europe, Algiers' kasbah could easily be a top-rated tourist attraction. Inscribed as a worldheritage site in 1992, the kasbah (or medina) dates from the 4th century BCE, when it was established as a Carthaginian trading post, and is brimming over with the remains of a citadel, mosques and Ottoman-style palaces.

Yet recent history has not been kind to the kasbah, or Algeria more generally. An armed Islamist insurrection in the 1990s led to tens of thousands of deaths and widespread atrocities both on the part of militant groups and security forces. Within Algiers, the kasbah was a militant stronghold, and while the conflict may have largely ended by 2000, the kasbah continues to struggle with a legacy of decay and neglect.

The New York Public Library. (1670). De Stadt Algier.*

Crumbling buildings are everywhere as is evidence of poor sanitation and decaying infrastructure. While many observers are despairing of ever seeing positive change, there is some indication that the tide may be turning. Since 2012 authorities have allocated almost USD1 billion for the kasbah's rehabilitation. However, these efforts are not being welcomed in all quarters. Some complain at being forcibly relocated while renovation work is being carried out as well as producing rampant real estate speculation.

The jury is still out at whether the Algerian authorities can protect the kasbah's unique historical heritage without irrevocably changing the character of a vibrant, tight-knit community whose forebears have lived in the kasbah for generations.

* Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47db-e424-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Newly restored buildings opened to the public at Pompei

As reported previously on this blog, the famed Roman archaeological site at Pompei has been focus of a major restoration project over the past three years which has not exactly proceeded according to plan.

However, Italian authorities had something celebrate this week with the unveiling of six newly restored buildings at Pompei. The buildings, which include bathhouses and intricate mosaics, were opened to the public on Christmas Eve. A slideshow featuring photos of one of the buildings, the luxurious Fullonica Stephanus Domus, have been posted here by CNN.

Already one of the most visited tourist attractions in Italy, Pompei is likely to attract even more visitors in the coming months thanks to the tangible results being achieved through the restoration process.

Ambitious restoration project at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity

Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity, a world heritage site located at the site traditionally associated with the birthplace of Jesus Christ, was first completed in the 4th century CE. While the church was rebuilt two centuries later following a fire, the elaborate mosaic floors from the original church were retained.

Having into the 21st century having survived earthquakes, sieges and (perhaps most destructively) leaking roofs, the Palestinian Authority launched a major renovation project in 2013 costing  approximately USD25 million. While the renovation work was still very much in evidence at the time of my visit to the church last year, impressive results are beginning to emerge, as reported by the Financial Times this week. In particular, tweltfh century mosaics have been restored to their former glory, giving visitors a chance to see them as they would have been seen by Christian pilgrims visiting the site in centuries past.

The restoration project will reportedly continue over the next three years, focussing on the church’s capitals columns, stone floor and floor mosaics. I look forward to seeing the end result.

Not so Great Pompei Project

One of the most visited archaeological sites in the world, Pompei - in southern Italy near Naples - is at once a testament to the destructive power of volcanism (the site was engulfed by burning pumice and ash in 79 CE) and the complexity and sophistication of Roman civilization. 

Sadly however Pompei has suffered from mismanagement and corruption over the years, notwithstanding its importance to Italy in historical and economic terms. In an effort to counter the effects of this mismanagement, which include collapsed arches and sagging walls, in 2012 the European Union pledged EUR78 million in support of the grandiosely named "Great Pompei Project." However, as recently reported by Reuters, the funding commitment runs out at the end of December 2015, and to date only 20 percent of the money has been spent.

Faced with the prospect of losing tens of millions of Euros, managers overseeing the project are ramping up their restoration and preservation work, for example by hiring 20 additional technicians to work at the site.

While it remains to be seen whether a deal can be struck with the EU to extend the deadline by which funds must be used, the poor planning which led to this flurry of last minute activity hardly leaves one confident in local authorities' management skills, let alone the quality of the remedial work being done.

Rebuilding Timbuktu's historical buildings

Timbuktu, a world heritage site in northern Mali, was a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries, and remains famous for its historical mosques and mausoleums as well as its libraries of ancient religious manuscripts. In 2012 Timbuktu's historical legacy was placed at risk when the city was seized by Islamist militants, and more than a dozen mausoleums and other religious buildings were destroyed.

While the international community strongly backed calls to rebuild the destroyed buildings after the Islamists left Timbuktu, UNESCO has reportedly struggled to raised even a quarter of the USD11 million estimated for the project. 

Meanwhile, local builders have pushed forward with their own rebuilding efforts using traditional methods and local materials, although a great deal of work remains to be done.

Adding arms to Venus de Milo: Harsh criticism of ongoing restoration work at Chartres Cathedral

As recently reported by The Telegraph newspaper, divergent perspectives on the restoration of ancient monuments has erupted into a war of words targeting a multi-year project to lighten the interior of ChartresCathedral. The cathedral, a world heritage site since 1979, dates from the 12th century and is widely viewed as representing the apex of French Gothic art.

While the criticism has originated principally from American architects and historians, including one who termed the project a cultural travesty tantamount to “adding arms to the Venus de Milo”. Other commentators claim that the approach adopted flies in the face of the 1964 Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, while Le Figaro, a Paris newspaper, likened the experience of visiting the "lightened" cathedral to watching a film in a cinema where they haven’t switched off the lights.

However, other commentators in France have defended the project, and at the end of the day the whole affair may say more about differing Gallic and Anglo-Saxon sensibilities when it comes to the restoration of historical buildings than the rights and wrongs of this particular project.