Bahla Fort
Factors affecting the property in 1996*
- Management activities
- Other Threats:
Degradation of the structures
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
- Degradation of the structures;
- Use of recent construction materials (cement, etc.)
International Assistance: requests for the property until 1996
Total amount approved : 57,000 USD
| 1988 | Financial contribution to works and training for the ... (Approved) | 50,000 USD |
| 1988 | Mission to evaluate the threats to the integrity of ... (Approved) | 7,000 USD |
Missions to the property until 1996**
October 1988: ICOMOS mission; March 1994: UNESCO World Heritage Centre mission; December 1994: ICOMOS expert mission; May-June 1995: experts mission; September 1996: expert mission
Information presented to the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in 1996
By letter of 22 December 1995, the Centre transmitted the Committee's appreciation, expressed during its nineteenth session, to the Omani authorities for their collaboration in the restoration of the Fort in conformity with international standards with regard to the preservation of authenticity. It also suggested that a further mission visit the site to evaluate the progress of the work and advise the authorities.
The Omani authorities propose that this mission take place in autumn 1996.
Action Required
The Bureau took note that an expert mission is scheduled for autumn 1996 and requested the Secretariat to report on the outcome of this mission to the World Heritage Committee at its twentieth session.
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 1996
The Bureau at its twentieth session was informed that a new expert mission would visit the site, the expenses of which would be shared with the Ministry of Culture of Oman.
In the course of this mission (14-21 September 1996), the experts made the following observations:
- more use is being made of traditional materials (mud bricks and coating)
- the work should be further oriented towards a restoration based on solid historical and scientific documentation and should definitively avoid any conjectural reconstruction.
- a site commission in charge of defining the nature, the scope and the priorities of the work to be undertaken should be set up as soon as possible.
- a number of emergency safeguarding and consolidation operations should be undertaken without delay, especially as concerns the citadel, Bait el Hadith and the two outer mosques. A maintenance and preventive consolidation team should also be set up.
- historical, architectural and scientific documentation, indispensable for achieving a restoration in conformity with international standards, must be compiled rapidly.
At the end of three working meetings, the Omani authorities adopted all of these recommendations.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 1996
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 1996
20 BUR IV.7
Bahla Fort (Oman)
The Bureau took note that an expert mission is scheduled for September 1996 and requested the Secretariat to report on the outcome of this mission to the World Heritage Committee at its twentieth session.
20 COM VII.C.26
SOC: Bahla Fort (Oman)
VII.26 Bahla Fort (Oman)
The Bureau at its twentieth session was informed that an expert mission would visit the site. This mission was undertaken in September 1996 and several recommendations were made regarding conservation techniques, proj ect management etc. All of these were accepted by the Omani Government.
After having examined the report of the Secretariat on the expert mission to Bahla Fort, the Committee thanked the Omani authorities for their efforts towards safeguarding the site and the satisfactory use of traditional materials, and to have adopted the recommendations of the mission concerning, in particular:
- the adoption of a restoration policy supported by precise scientific documentation and avoiding all reconstruction;
- the establishment of a site commission, the competence of which should also include the environment;
- the implementation of emergency safeguarding and consolidation work, especially at the citadel, at Bait el Hadith and in the two outer mosques, as well as the establishment of a preventive conservation team;
- the compilation of exhaustive scientific, historical and architectural documentation, indispensable for the the site restoration in accordance with international of standards.
The Committee encouraged the Omani authorities to implement this programme as rapidly as possible, as they have indicated their will to do so. The Committee requested them to keep it informed on a regular basis of the progress achieved in the implementation of these measures.
The Committee may wish to adopt the following text:
"After having examined the report of the Secretariat on the expert mission to the Bahla Fort (14 to 21 September, 1996), the Committee thanks the Omani authorities for their efforts towards safeguarding the site and the satisfactory use of traditional materials, and to have adopted the recommendations of the mission concerning, in particular:
- the adoption of a restoration policy supported by precise scientific documentation and avoiding all conjectural reconstruction;
- the establishment of a site commission;
- the implementation of emergency safeguarding and consolidation work, especially at the citadel, at Bait el Hadith and in the two outer mosques, as well as the establishment of a preventive conservation team;
- the compilation of exhaustive scientific, historical and architectural documentation, indispensable for the restoration of the site in accordance with international standards.
The Committee encourages the Omani authorities to implement this programme as rapidly as possible, as they have indicated their will to do so. The Committee requests them to keep it informed on a regular basis, through the intermediary of the World Heritage Centre, of the progress achieved in the implementation of these measures."
OmanExports
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
