How do conservation efforts respond to the ever-increasing threats of climate change?

In September 2023, the north-east of Libya was left devastated by Storm Daniel as strong winds and heavy rainfall caused two dams to fail in the city of Derna, producing severe flooding in the region. The floods, which are thought to have claimed as many as 20,000 lives, brought catastrophic damage to the city and its surrounding areas where several of Libya’s most significant archaeological sites are situated.

Notable among them is the ancient city of Ceyrene, one of Libya’s five World Heritage Sites – all of which currently appear on UNESCO’s List of Heritage Sites in Danger due to the ongoing effects of Libya’s civil war. Damage to the site caused by flooding has highlighted the additional requirements heritage sites situated on the coast have for strategies which will protect them against tough conditions and emphasising the need for conservation efforts which take the local environment into consideration.

Improving heritage management in Libya

Professor Will Wootton, from the Department of Classics at King’s, has drawn on his experience as a practitioner of mosaics to discover how contemporary craft production can inform the conservation of ancient mosaics. The project, Conserving Classical Heritage and Making Roman Art has, since 2011, helped to support heritage management in Libya at a number of its archaeological and World Heritage sites, many of which are known for containing significant mosaics ranging from the Hellenistic period to late antiquity. The project is making a valuable contribution to protecting high-quality mosaics exposed to conditions which have made them vulnerable to erosion and rapid deterioration.

A major impact of Wootton’s research has been the success of a partner agreement with the Libyan Department of Antiquities (DoA) on the collaborative project, Managing Libya’s Cultural Heritage (MaLiCH). The project, which began in 2020, set out to remove three of Libya’s World Heritage Sites from UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger by delivering training in heritage protection, emergency stabilisation and management planning.

Heritage efforts in Libya taking Action

The MaLiCH project team — led by Dr Wootton and Dr Hiba Alkhalaf, also from the Department of Classics at King’s — have embarked on multiple site visits since funding was first awarded by the International alliance for the protection of heritage (ALIPH) in 2020. Most recently, in May 2024 and in collaboration with the Libyan Department of Antiquities, the team visited Tripoli and the two World Heritage Sites of Sabratha and Lepcis Magna, to address growing threats of vegetation encroachment and sand movement on coastal archaeological sites.

In May 2023, there was also a visit to the Old Town of Ghadames.

The team conducted condition assessments, started programmes of vegetation control, and set up new work teams and operational mechanisms that will maintain the sites. Volunteers also contributed to the efforts by clearing waste, demonstrating the investment of residents in their local heritage. Drone photogrammetric techniques were used to document the changes before and after the vegetation was cleared, to produce a clear record of the work’s impact which can be used in the development of future strategies, especially for the sites’ most vulnerable areas.

Co-ordinating an Emergency Response

The MaLiCH team have also made significant headway on initiating a response to the damages incurred by Storm Daniel in 2023. Together with the Centre for Archaeological Research at Omar Al-Mukhtar University and the DoA, the MaLiCH team have produced reports which document and assess the impact of flooding on sites in eastern Libya, detailing the harm caused as well as new discoveries. By doing so, the team have helped to provide a clearer picture on the work which will be required to repair and protect sites for researchers and visitors.

The project has also awarded the Good Practices in Cultural Heritage Preservation and Protection in the Arab Region by ICCROM-Sharjah in a ceremony in the United Arab Emirates in November 2024.