Preservation In Situ for Tourism: An Early Christian Monastic Complex on Sir Bani Yas Island, Western Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abstract

This paper reports on the conservation measures taken to protect and display the remains of a pre-Islamic Christian monastic complex on Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and the reasoning behind the decisions. The excavated areas of the site are now partly sheltered, and partly reburied. Observations are made on the effectiveness of the shelter building, and the reburial system used between 1996 and 2010, and on the measures currently being used to preserve plaster floors and faced standing walls in aggressive environmental conditions. Work has been carried out to find ways to make the site as legible as possible while also conserving it. Methods of site monitoring are also discussed.

Keywords:

• reburial
• wall capping
• shelters
• lime mortar
• sustainable conservation
• Gulf tourism

We would like to thank Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and TDIC for their support for this conservation project. We would also like to thank Peter Hellyer for his project leadership and contributions to this work. Archaeological staff Sarah Bates and John Percival and Conservation Assistants Katrina Redman, Daniela Boos Pedrosa, and Marie Le Saux contributed to the success of the preservation efforts. The dry stone walling skills were provided by TDIC workers Yogandra Khanal, Bhuwan Karki, and Humaun Kabir.

Notes

1 A summary of the project and conservation work can be viewed online at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyaTeoCmuLM>.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dana Goodburn-Brown

Dana Goodburn-Brown MSc ACR is an accredited archaeological conservator and founding director of AMTeC Coop Ltd and CSI: Sittingbourne. She has worked on developer-funded archaeological conservation projects for most of her thirty-year career, and instigated the first PARIS conference, when working at the Museum of London 1987–97. Her work on international projects include Zeugma, South-East Turkey; Chersonesos, Crimea, Ukraine; Baharia, Egypt; and Upper Sabina Tiberina, Italy. She recently obtained an MSc in Sustainable Heritage from UCL.

Correspondence to: Dana Goodburn-Brown, The Cottage, Tonge Corner, Sittingbourne, Kent me9 9ba, UK. Email: [email protected]

Kirsty Norman

Kirsty Norman worked as an archaeological conservator for twenty-five years, at the British Museum and then mainly in the Arabian Gulf and Turkey. She took an MA in heritage management at the Institute of Archaeology UCL in London in 2004, and worked on a series of World Heritage-based projects for the Centre for Applied Archaeology at UCL. She continues to work as a Principal Consultant for the CAA, and is also an Honorary Lecturer at the Institute.

Joseph Elders

Dr Joseph Elders MA PhD FSA is an archaeologist and architectural historian who specializes in the study of churches and monasteries. He has directed excavations in the UK, Germany, and the UAE, and since 1999 is responsible for archaeological matters relating to the Church of England’s 13,000 medieval churches, as well as compiling reports on churches at risk, compiling Conservation Management Plans, and giving advice on major development projects aimed at enhancing heritage assets for public appreciation. He has been Archaeological Director of the excavations at the Sir Bani Yas monastery sites since 1993.

Elizabeth Popescu

Elizabeth Popescu began her career as a field archaeologist at the Museum of London and moved into post-excavation analysis and publication. She has excavated extensively in the UK and in Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Syria, and the UAE. She is currently the Post-Excavation and Publications Manager at Oxford Archaeology East.