What price 'world' heritage?

The good news is that the flash floods which were threatening the collapse of the magnificent Minaret of Jam in central Afghanistan have receded.

The Minaret of Jam stands 65m high and was built by the Ghurid dynasty in 1173/74 © David Thomas / MJAP 2005

Hundreds of Afghan workers succeeded in diverting the flow of the Jam Rud away from the minaret, revealing that 15 metres of gabions protecting the base of the minaret along the Jam Rud had been ripped out by the floods.

The gabions (metal cages of rocks along the banks of the rivers) require repair each year © David Thomas / MJAP 2005

But important questions remain as to how the world nearly lost another UNESCO World Heritage site, and whether the concept of 'world' heritage is genuine, when just under 40% of World Heritage sites are in Europe and major donors such as the United States play politics with UNESCO funding.

Humans seem to be particularly prone to doing too little too late, when it comes to heritage. Just last month the World Heritage listed Notre Dame cathedral in Paris was severely damaged by fire, while in September 2018, fire also consumed the Museu Nacional, Brazil’s oldest and most important historical and scientific museum. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to lose one site may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. As Ashley Fern, columnist on Elite Daily, noted: “People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it's gone. Truth is, you knew what you had, you just never thought you’d lose it.” 

This maxim has applied to the Minaret of Jam over the years, both recently and eight hundred years ago. Floods in spring, as snow melts and torrential rain can fall, are not a surprise - they threatened the minaret in 2014, and in 2007 (click here to see remarkable panoramic photos of the Hari Rud in spate in 2014). The thirteenth-century chronicler al-Juzjani even tells us the Friday Mosque at Firuzkuh (modern Jam) was destroyed in a flood in 1200. 

Collapsed columns on backed brick paving east of the minaret. The sands and gravels in section were deposited by floods
© David Thomas / MJAP 2005

More recently, in a rare concurrence of historical and archaeological data, the Minaret of Jam Archaeological Project, which I led to Jam in 2003 and 2005, discovered evidence of the flood al-Juzjani mentioned. We also recorded the ruins of a baked-brick bridge opposite the minaret and stone terrace river defences 950 metres upstream from the minaret. The Ghurid inhabitants of Firuzkuh / Jam knew they had to try to control the floods and invested significant resources into so doing.

The remains of the baked-brick Ghurid bridge opposite the minaret © David Thomas / MJAP 2005

A few days ago, the modern authorities responsible for Jam announced a three year plan with $2m of funding to "renovate" the Minaret. It is unclear what the plan entails and why it has taken so long for this action - Jam has been on the World Heritage in Danger list since its successful nomination as Afghanistan's first World Heritage site in 2002. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on studies and technical reference group meetings of international experts, but actual work on the ground at Jam has been minimal. Just last year, the World Heritage Committee urged the State Party, again, to address concerns about the stability of the minaret and implement the conservation action plan, while calling "upon the international community to provide technical and financial support".

Although central Afghanistan is relatively safe, working there still carries certain risks © David Thomas / MJAP 2005

Attempts have been made to protect the Minaret of Jam in the past, and it is important to acknowledge that working at this remote site is a security and logistical nightmare. Just yesterday, 18 people died in Taliban attacks on security posts in the area.

Travel to Jam tests the endurance of vehicles and passengers © Kevin White/ MJAP 2005

A restoration project planned for 1979, for example, had to be abandoned due to the Soviet invasion. In 1995, an Afghan heritage expert recommended a gabion wall be built, but then Jam fell on the frontline in the Afghan civil war. Limited gabions were built in 2000, and have since been expanded, but the recent floods demonstrate more protection is required.

Unless this happens, we will face the loss of another World Heritage Site and another (more) expensive, ultimately hollow, reconstruction project.