17³Ô¹Ï

This program was funded by the U.S. Department of State.

Storms are a persistent threat to cultural heritage in all climate zones, but this is particularly true in arid environments where flash flooding can turn a dry gully into a torrent with little warning. The impacts of storms can be wide-ranging and severe. Communities can be disrupted. Collections, buildings, and archaeological sites can be flooded, buried, or swept away. Even subterranean heritage is not safe from the eroding force of flood waters, which can cut deep troughs into undocumented remains.

The effects of Storm Daniel in September 2023 demonstrate the catastrophic potential of storms in Libya. Storm Daniel caused significant loss of life and damage to property in eastern Libya; most notably, in the city of Derna where the failure of the dams above the city likely led to the death of more than 10,000 residents.

The storm also impacted heritage across the region. Water caused extensive damage to built heritage, exposed previously unknown sites and artifacts, and flooded collections in museums across the region. The cumulative effects of this event exceeded the capacities of Libya’s cultural heritage sector, which called out for international assistance to respond to the crisis.

In coordination with the Libyan Department of Antiquities (DOA) and through the support of the U.S. Department of State, 17³Ô¹Ïprovided training to document affected areas and funds to stabilize and repair heritage damaged by the flooding. Training focused on Arabic-language instruction in ASOR’s free set of open-source heritage documentation tools. Twenty-three trainees completed virtual tutorials and attended online training sessions via Zoom. Training focused on the heritage professionals in Eastern Libya who were best able to participate in post-flood recovery efforts. The training group included six members of the Department of Antiquities in Benghazi, nine members of the Tocra Office of Antiquities, and three members of the Cyrene Office of Antiquities. In addition to these government employees, four from University of Benghazi’s Department of Archaeology and one from the University of Tripoli also participated in the training.

After training, 17³Ô¹Ïheld a competitive award process to identify candidates for mini-grants to stabilize and restore affected heritage in eastern Libya. Ultimately, 17³Ô¹Ïawarded three mini-grants to support the protection of flood-affected heritage at the archaeological sites of Cyrene, Ptolemais, and Tocra. The projects at all three locations were designed and led by local DOA teams.

The project at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cyrene focused on cleaning and reactivating a portion of the ancient drainage system. At more than 450m in length, the targeted channel is the largest drainage system excavated in the city and forms part of a larger network that feeds a number of baths in the vicinity and also connects to the Sanctuary of Apollo. The drainage network is largely cut into bedrock and in some places is covered by large paving stones. The torrential flooding caused by Storm Daniel ripped away some of the paving stones and also filled parts of the channel with silt and debris, inhibiting its ability to effectively remove overflow from the area of the archaeological site.

The local Department of Antiquities office requested funding in order to repair the damage caused by the flooding and to reactivate the drainage network as an effective means of controlling water on the archaeological site. DOA started by documenting the channel using training in documentation and mapping techniques previously received in workshops with ASOR. After the documentation work was completed, the Restoration Department at Cyrene cleaned approximately 60 meters of silt and debris from the rock-cut channels. Alongside debris removal, the project recovered and reinstalled the large stone blocks that were covering part of the channel and had been ripped away by the flooding. This limited portion of the drainage system has now been returned to its pre-flood state, which allows it to help channel water away from other parts of the archaeological site; however, more of the system needs to be cleared before it will work effectively. Although not a direct continuation of this work, the ongoing DOA-17³Ô¹Ïproject at Cyrene that is supported by Ancient Rome Live / AIRC addresses other damage caused by the flooding at Cyrene.

A second project at the archaeological site of Ptolemais mitigated structural issues that led to flooding of the site museum and its collections. Storm Daniel inundated parts of the building and courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Ptolemais, resulting in the submersion of artifacts and museum equipment under 50cm of water. To avoid a recurrence of this destructive incident, local DOA representatives requested funding to improve the drainage infrastructure outside of the Museum and raise the level of materials inside of the Museum.

DOA implemented a number of improvements to mitigate flooding around the museum and prevent damage to cultural property inside of it. Along the edges of the property, the project built earthen dams in areas that slope toward the museum in order to redirect flooding away from the structure and limit the potential for pooling around the building. The project also addressed the problem of water accumulation and stagnation during the rainy season in the street along the east side of the museum by placing more than 15 truckloads of rubble and soil in that area in order to facilitate drainage away from the building. At the museum entrance, DOA raised the porch in front of the main door to prevent water from entering it and installed a new iron door to increase the security of the property.

Cost-effective interventions to protect cultural property inside the building took two forms. First, to protect the artifacts displayed in the museum from water reaching them from below, as happened as a result of the Daniel storm, concrete bases were built with a height of about 60 cm to lift statues and other artifacts above ground level. Second, to prevent rainwater from leaking into the museum through its dilapidated roof, the roof was covered with roofing tar strips, which have proven effective during recent rainfall.

The third project occurred at the archaeological site of Tocra, located 25km west of Al Marj, where a mosaic dating from the 5^th–6^th centuries CE was damaged by rainfall and the partial collapse of its warehouse during the storm. Prior to the project, the local Department of Antiquities had already removed the mosaic from its damaged enclosure and cleaned it with support from ASOR. DOA representatives requested additional funding through the mini-grant process in order to finish addressing storm damage, mitigate a previous inappropriate conservation treatment applied after the mosaic’s discovery in 1972, and reinstall the mosaic in the Tocra Museum where it can be viewed by visitors.

With their mini-grant, members of the local DOA office in Tocra successfully removed the inappropriate conservation treatment and finished the restoration of the mosaic. The restored mosaic was transferred to a secure location near the Tocra Museum and is ready to be put on display.

Through projects like these, 17³Ô¹Ïcontinues to support colleagues in Libya as they address cultural heritage damage and strengthen preparedness for future storms.