SEAWALLS and overhead shelters are among solutions suggested by experts to protect major archeological sites in Bahrain that are under threat from climate change.
Archaeologists from the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) earlier indicated that heritage sites in Saar, A’ali, Barbar, Halat Bu Maher, Qal’ah, Al Sayah and Hawar Islands had already suffered varying levels of deterioration – and need urgent protection.
Baca Museums and Antiquities director Dr Salman Al Mahari indicated that desertification, strong winds, rising temperatures and sea levels had altered the chemical properties of materials at these sites, causing visible damage.
“Climate change is a now a global phenomenon and Bahrain is not exempt from it,” Dr Al Mahari told the GDN.
“Changes in climate threaten the survival of archaeological sites because it affects the materials they are made of. For example, natural gypsum has been in use until less than a century ago and when it is dehydrated, it turns into a fragile material. Similarly, wood also becomes less durable when it loses moisture.”
Dr Al Mahari, Baca conservation adviser Melanie Münzner and conservationist Dr Lucía Gómez-Robles had aired their concerns at a recent panel discussion on ‘Heritage and Climate Change’, as reported in the GDN. They stressed the need for more open discussions so that innovative solutions can be derived to protect monuments.
“Old buildings in Bahrain, dating back into antiquity, were made of salt-filled sea rocks,” Dr Gómez-Robles pointed out. “Water exposure dissolves salt and causes it to enter the walls. When it dries, the salt forms crystals with bonds strong enough to break even concrete, resulting in fundamental structural damage. “The problem has increased in recent times as Bahrain has been witnessing more flooding due to rainfall.
“To make matters worse, urban development means that it is difficult for water to drain because it has nowhere to go.” Dr Al Mahari said heavy winds and rainfall in the country in January had swept away sand in the Royal Mounds of A’ali and parts of Barbar Temple, causing slight but noticable changes to the sites.
“In the Saar Archaeological Site, mortar and plaster that cover the walls of the Dilmunian town were dented by violent sand-carrying winds,” he said.
“Within the next 50 to 100 years, the coastal fort in Qal’ah could be completely submerged in water if sea levels were to rise by half a metre, as predicted by experts. We are taking action by planting more trees at the Saar site to provide protection from wind and lower temperatures.”
Dr Gómez-Robles said sea barriers and overhead shelters could be set up to shield sites from the elements.
“Bu Maher Fort is dangerously close to the sea because it’s the only place in Muharraq that retains the original coastline of the island,” she said.
“However, land reclamation protects the rest of the old city.
“There are downsides and sacrifices for every solution, which is why there needs to be a dialogue before any decisions are made.”
Ms Münzner warned that not all threats to heritage sites are visible to the naked eye.
“Sites can be vulnerable to factors that are not readily observable, like attacks from fungi and mould and changes in the integrity of materials,” she said.
“These events set in slowly but become irreversible if they are not identified and treated.”
She stressed the need for better climate change policies which will ensure the continuity of national heritage into the future.
At a landmark UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) held last year in Glasgow in the UK, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, had stressed the importance of adapting to climate change, when announcing that Bahrain would cut its emissions by 30 per cent by 2035. “Our 2035 targets also include carbon removal solutions by quadrupling mangrove coverage, doubling tree coverage in Bahrain, and directly investing in carbon capture technologies, which we believe is essential,” he had said.
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