‘Emergency response for heritage in contexts of conflicts'

MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman joins the world to mark World Heritage Day, celebrated annually on April 18, under the theme ‘Emergency Response for Living Heritage in Contexts of Conflicts and Disasters’. The aim is to highlight international efforts to safeguard and protect living heritage of global cultural significance, given the increasing challenges it faces due to the escalating nature of disasters and conflicts within complex and multi-risk contexts.
Eng Ibrahim bin Said al Kharousi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Heritage, said that the Sultanate of Oman has successfully engaged local communities as key partners in the management, operation, preservation, and conservation processes, in accordance with Unesco guidelines.
Al Kharousi explained that this season’s research projects covered periods from the Palaeolithic era to the Islamic era. Among the most prominent projects was the implementation of seven research programmes in Al Dhahirah Governorate. At the Al Shakur site in the Wilayat of Dhank, the Italian mission from Sapienza University uncovered a fortified settlement dating back to the third millennium BC, during the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. This included a comprehensive analysis of the development of human settlement in the northwestern part of Oman, specifically in the Qumayrah region.
He added that the ministry, in cooperation with the Polish mission from the University of Warsaw, is working for the eighth season to complete excavations on a hill dating back to the Iron Age. The aim is to document the site more accurately using advanced methods. The French mission from the National Center for Scientific Research continues its work for the sixth season, excavating the Al Aardh archaeological site in the Wilayat of Ibri. He noted that this season’s focus is on continuing excavation work and studying all the artefacts, including copper alloys and stone tools, discovered since the beginning of the excavations, in addition to ongoing geological and archaeological studies.
He revealed that the German mission from the University of Tübingen continues its survey and excavation work at several sites in the wilayats of Al Mudhaibi and Sinaw, having identified new sites. Meanwhile, the British mission from the University of Liverpool is studying the traditional aflaj irrigation systems in the wilayats of Sinaw and Al Mudhaibi, in addition to sites associated with stargazing.
Al Kharousi said that the ministry, in cooperation with the Japanese mission from the Institute for Human and Natural Sciences Research, conducted surface archaeological surveys and test probes for evaluation and study in the wilayats of Khasab and Bukha in Musandam Governorate. The ministry also carried out archaeological excavations at the Khor Al Milh site in the Wilayat of Qurayat in Muscat Governorate, in cooperation with a Dutch mission. — ONA