Red-Dead project could damage archaeological sites

Environmental experts have warned that a proposed project to pump Red Sea water to the depleting Dead Sea will have adverse affects on several ancient archaeological sites in Jordan. 

This satellite photo shows a bird’s-eye view of the shrinking Dead Sea, whose water level is dropping by around one metre each year [Credit: NASA]

The so-called Red-Dead project, according to officials, aims at raising the declining level of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. It has been shrinking at the rate of one metre per year, 

A reported commissioned by the World Bank  identified Wadi Finan, Bir Mathkour and several other sites in Wadi Araba as sites that might be damaged or destroyed without close monitoring of the project’s construction. 

The Red-Dead project envisages pumping one billion cubic metres of water annually from the Red Sea into the Dead Sea. 

The report said that in order to avoid destruction of the archaeological sites,  restrictions should be imposed on the movement of vehicles, control over the dumping of waste, education of the workforce on the value of heritage assets, fencing to avoid accidental damage and monitoring by the concerned authorities.. 

According to the report, “the construction of the water conveyance, desalination plant, brine discharge conduit and drinking water conveyances is virtually certain to encounter sites or artefacts of archaeological significance.” 

It said Wadi Finan, Bir Mathkour, Ghor Fifa, Qasr Tlah  and parts of Wadi Araba were categorised as critical archaeological sites that would be affected by  the project. 

The main focus of the archaeological assessment was in Jordan, the report said, noting that areas of construction in Israel and the Palestinian territories are much smaller and are expected to lie within an existing road corridor. 

Identifying archaeological sites is vital because the Gulf of Aqaba, Wadi Araba and the Dead Sea area have one of the longest histories of human activity to be found anywhere, according to the report. 

“There are a number of known sites in the valley with cultural and religious significance in the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam,” the report said. 

Wadi Finan is a complex of sites of regional and international significance because it documents human activities at the very beginning of settled and agricultural societies, along with the earliest use of metals in the region, the report said, highlighting the importance of the site. 

Author: Musa Keilani | Source: The Gulf Today [January 04, 2011]