The Harat (or old settlements) Documentation Project

2015

Purpose-Through a project of cooperation between the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) and Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), a team including faculty members, technicians and students from the SQU department of civil and architectural engineering (CAE), was involved in the project of documentation, survey and the development of management plans of four (4) Omani Vernacular settlements (Harat). Such an experience was meant to initiate students from different levels in undergraduate programs of civil and architectural engineering to the fieldwork and professional practice in the field of built heritage studies. The present research aims to explore the effect of such an experience on the learning process and skills acquired by the involved students. Design/methodology/approach-The research was undertaken with students of CAE undergraduate programs at SQU. The documentation method has been implemented in 4 different settlements with the same students. A questionnaire has been administered to the participating students after their graduation to collect their feedback regarding the benefits of this experience on their education and skills development. The data was complemented by active observation and semi-directive interviews with some students randomly selected among the respondents to the questionnaire. Findings-The outcome of each documentation campaign as well as the results of the questionnaires administered revealed that this experience has raised students' awareness about the importance of studying the built heritage and safeguarding it. The research has shown that important soft skills, such as teamworking, leadership and communication, have been consolidated. It has also revealed that this experience was an opportunity for students to discover the variety of options within the profession of architecture and its intellectual and ethical responsibilities. Such aspects are hardly grasped when taught within a "classical" teaching/learning setting. Research limitations/implications-The main limitations of this research were the hard working conditions during the summer in Oman and the direct interaction of the students with the buildings. Even cautious, such interaction represents a risk for an already fragile heritage. Practical implications-The paper includes a detailed description of the architectural documentation tools and methods used in the case studies. These tools and methods can easily be applicable, with slight adaptations, in other architectural documentation projects involving undergraduate students. The documentation methodology and the generated corpus of 3D digital models can be used in other Built heritage for architectural education The author would like to thank SQU for its continuous support of research activities. She would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of CAE students in the documentation work and the graphical input. Recognition is also due to Eng-s. Aliya A. Al Hashim, Asma Al Muqbali, and Mohsen Ghanama for supervising the field surveys. Deepest gratitude goes to the inhabitants of the surveyed settlements in recognition to their hospitality and support. Finally, sincere appreciation goes to the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions which have considerably helped in refining the initial version of this article. Unless stated otherwise, all illustrations presented in this paper were prepared by the Author and the SQU documentation team.

2021

The present Heritage Management and Development Plan (HMP) is the initial step in the process of preservation and development of the vernacular settlements in Oman. It is part of the sustained cooperation between the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and Sultan Qaboos University. For the first time, such cooperation leads to the realization of an exhaustive study and documentation of four Omani settlements among the most endangered sites listed by the Ministry. An extensive fieldwork followed by off-site research and documentation were the main resources used by the SQU team to develop the present Heritage Management and Development plan. This project involved not only specialists of Omani vernacular architecture locally based at SQU, but also their students, as well as the Ministry's employees who were formed on site and initiated to the latest techniques and methods of built heritage documentation and conservation. The first objective of this cooperation was the documentation a...

2022

Mudbrick settlements are a common sight in central Oman and are often attributed to the Yaʿariba and al-Busaydī periods. They have been the subject of study of different projects in the past, providing a good basis for understanding the settlements. This paper will review how the mudbrick settlements have been studied since the beginning of this century and discuss approaches for future research. A specific focus of this study is the interpretation and analysis of the material culture of the mudbrick settlements. Previous ceramic studies are analysed and this paper aims to refine the ceramic chronology of the Late Islamic period in central Oman. This outcome provides a first comprehensive study on the ceramics of this time period and region. In doing so, one of the goals is to establish a baseline for future studies on this period so that it can provide a reference for other archaeologists who find similar material and settlements, to re(dis)cover subrecent times in Oman.

Conservation Perspectives, 2022

The extent of that heritage is vast. Consider just those earthen heritage sites internationally recognized-about 10 percent of the cultural sites on the World Heritage List are made of earth. And the world's earthen architectural heritage extends well beyond places on the List, running the gamut from churches and forts to homes and human settlements in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For decades now, the GCI has engaged in research and field projects related to the conservation of earthen architecture. ... Soumyen Bandyopadhyay, the Sir James Stirling Chair in Architecture at the University of Liverpool, traces the development of the conservation of historic earthen architecture in Oman and then explores in more depth conservation and adaptive reuse in Omani historic settlements constructed with earth.

The Journal of Oman Studies, Vol. 22, 2021

The Journal of Oman Studies was established in 1975. It is published by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in the Sultanate of Oman. It is a scholarly journal that publishes original and refereed research in both Arabic and English in areas relating to natural and cultural heritage relevant to the Sultanate of Oman. The journal publishes research in various areas of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. For example, the journal publishes research in various kinds of movable and non-movable archaeology, rock art, inscriptions and writings, sculpture, traditional architectures such as forts, castles and old neighborhoods. The journal also publishes research on modern buildings with unique architecture specific to Oman. It also publishes research on intangible cultural heritage such as research in the areas of Omani traditions and customs, different forms of expression including language and oral practices, various forms of performance arts, rituals, ceremonials, social practices, various forms of interaction with nature such as agriculture, falaj and irrigation system, traditional medicine, skills related to Oman's traditional handcrafts and others. The journal also publishes research dealing with topics related to Oman's natural heritage and these include studies of natural landscape, geological structure, natural sites like mountains, wadis, caves, flora and fauna of Oman. The journal also invites book reviews in relevant areas. All submissions are subject to academic review. Submissions cannot be withdrawn after they have been sent to reviewers. Contributors must confirm in writing using the relevant form that their submissions are original and have not been previously published or are under consideration by other journals. All copyrights are reserved by the publisher and the journal has the right to republish or translate the submission upon consulting with the author. Materials published in the Journal reflect the opinions of their writers, not necessarily those of the journal's editorial board, nor do they reflect the official policy of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism. Guide to manuscript submission Contributions are submitted in Microsoft Word format with a margin of 3cm in all sides. The number of words of the manuscript should not exceed 10,000 words for a full paper and 1200 for the book review including footnotes. Submissions should be double-spaced with Times New Roman size 12. Submissions should be sent electronically with the following details provided on the cover page: title of the paper, author(s) full name(s), academic titles, their affiliation(s) and the type of submission (paper, translation, book review... etc.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

This white paper summarizes the first phase in the creation of an online digital repository for archaeological data obtained during the 2010-2011 survey season in and around the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat.

2018