PROJECTS REQUIRING FUNDING

1. Geographic Information System (GIS) Base Map for the PAP
2. Geological Risk Map
3. Urgent Investigation of the Rock Stability in the Siq in Petra
4. Access & Interpretation of the Wall Painting in Siq al-Barid, Beidha
5. Consolidation of Qasr al-Bint
6. Rehabilitation of hydraulic system in the Khazne Area
7. Clearance of the Siq al-Mudhlim Tunnel Roof, Siq al-Mudhlim Area Project, Phase III 

Geographic Information System (GIS) Base Map for the PAP

To provide the PAP with a GIS base map that will serve as a vital management tool for the Park and the future development of site monitoring and research. The map will be used by the PAP authorities and managers in future Park management initiatives.
The long-term objective is to protect the significance, values, and integrity of the PAP as defined in the UNESCO management plan and later the US National Park Service (NPS) Operation Plan. The GIS map will enable better management of the visitors and resources, and in particular, the protection of the archaeological heritage, biodiversity and fragile geology. It will also enable monitoring the condition of the site, determining activities permitted in the Park, tracking movement and changes, monitoring impact and degradation, amongst other things.

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To conduct a survey to assess the geological structure and risks that results from Petra being located on two major faults and therefore exposed to periodic seismic activity that endangers the stability of its unique monuments. An output of this project would be a geological “risk map” and recommendations for the area with the highest concentration of archaeological monuments. 

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One of the major risks that Petra faces is the instability that affects rock-forming slopes throughout the Siq – a 1.2 kilometre naturally formed gorge which is the main entryway into the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP).  This is mainly attributed to the structural setting of the geological formations outcropping in the area.

Rapid onset natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, floods and landslides, pose a major threat to visitors and cultural heritage. Assessing the percentage of losses caused by landslides is very difficult, and whereas earthquakes and floods cause damage to large expanses of land, landslides act more locally, affecting only a specific area. The term landslide refers to mass movements ruled by gravity along a slope. Landslides generally present precursory phenomena or occur slowly thereby allowing the planning of countermeasures.  In the cases where landslides are predictable events remedial action is possible, however it requires a thorough understanding of the hazards at work and the vulnerability of the geologic formations and monuments at risk.  Landslides are commonly divided into five types: toppling; rock fall; rotational and translational slides; and complex.  In the Siq area the most common recognized landslide types are toppling and rock fall.  Usually these types of movements develop on fractured rock slopes and the moment of detachment is unpredictable, in the absence of a monitoring system, and very rapid.  

These large and rapid movements constitute a menace for monument conservation in rupestrian areas such as Petra, and more urgently, they pose a very dangerous threat to visitors: the Siq is the single visitor entry point into Petra and once within the 1.2 km gorge, there is limited movement and difficulty for emergency access.  The height of the Siq walls is such that even small rock falls constitute a threat to visitors. Being the only route of entry into the Petra Archaeological Park, on average 2300 tourists pass through this narrow gorge on a daily basis (with an average peak of 5000 tourists daily), and the threat of falling rock and debris cannot be underestimated. In May 2009 a small rock weighing approx. 150 kg. got detached and collapsed in the Siq. Fortunately it collapsed before visitation hours, and what could have been potentially a disastrous accident was averted. 

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To improve access to the Siq al Barid wall painting for presentation to the visitors. In so doing, not only will it reflect another facet of Nabataean heritage but will also serve to extend the duration of the visitors to Petra and its region. It will furthermore increase the income of the Amarin community who are somewhat marginalised from Petra due to their remote geographical location. In the long term a strategy will be developed for the access, interpretation and protection of all caves with wall paintings.

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To fund a full-scale study of the current status of the best-preserved, free-standing architecture in Petra, from collapse. 

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To restore the Nabataean hydraulic system in the Khazne area to protect visitors and antiquities from the severely damaging effects of flash floods. Restoration of the hydraulic system in the Siq was one phase of the overall project to protect visitors and monuments from flash flooding. Completion of this project will be the final stage in the restoration of an intricate protection system starting at the entrance to the Park and stretching to the Outer Siq

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To clear 2000 years of soil and debris from above the tunnel roof and to repair structural cracks which allow water seepage and threaten the tunnel with collapse. This is an integral part of the full-scale storm water management project. 

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