Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun

When inscribing this property on the World Heritage List at its 29th Session in 2005, the Committee requested the State Party to submit complete management and conservation plans for the property for consideration at its 30th Session in 2006 (decision 29 COM 8B.26). The State Party was requested to refrain from approving any land reclamation or construction in the sea anywhere in front of the site and to check the new construction on existing reclaimed land in order to protect the visual integrity of the site and to maintain the principal views within the area nominated. The conservation and consolidation of the fortress and of the excavated area were expected to be firmly integrated into both the management and the conservation plans.

The State Party submitted an Action Plan and a Progress Report on actions carried out to produce a management plan for the site. This is an impressive piece of work, covering the points raised by the Committee at its 29th Session. It explains that the management and conservation plans were not yet complete, since the Directorate of Culture and National Heritage had to concentrate its efforts on stopping the planned development projects referred to in the Committee’s decision. Steady progress has been made, but it has not been possible to begin detailed work on the plans until all the problems are resolved.

One of the annexes to this document was the report on the mission carried out from 27 January to 2 February 2006 by an expert from the World Heritage Centre. The mission report notes that important development projects have been planned in the northern part of the country, where Qal’at al-Bahrain Archaeological Site is located. Notably, an important artificial island (North Star project) and a causeway are foreseen in the immediate vicinity of the site. It is important to note that the mission benefited from the full assistance of the Government officials in charge of these projects.

This mission report made a number of recommendations, among which the following are the most significant:

a) To ensure that the decisions taken at the highest level of the State Party, as regards the abandonment or relocation of the North Star project and the proposed zoning of the area surrounding the Archaeological Site of Qal’at al-Bahrain be officially reported to the World heritage Centre as soon as possible ;

b) To collaborate with the World Heritage Centre on the identification of the most appropriate solution for the construction of the causeway, in order to respond to the concern relating to the traffic congestion of the northern coast while preserving the visual integrity in the sea in front of the site ;

c) To define the legislative framework for the protection of the World Heritage Site, which is currently being discussed ;

d) To postpone any archaeological excavation in the protected areas within the core zone, concentrating on archaeological survey in the most threatened areas (notably in the buffer zone and the bay in front of the site) ;

e) To create a National Committee for World Heritage, based on close collaboration between national authorities, the civil society, and the private sector ;

f) To include the local community in the management process, notably the inhabitants of the village located on the southern border of the archaeological hill, who complain about their life conditions and have expressed their will to move elsewhere.

Moreover, in order to better reflect the outstanding universal value of the site as ancient capital of the Dilmun civilization, the State Party requested the World Heritage Committee to consider the change of the name of the property from “Qal’at al-Bahrain Archaeological Site” to “Qal’at al-Bahrain – the ancient harbour and capital of Dilmun” (Document WHC-06/30.COM/8B).