Talal Akasheh
Natalie Hoare spoke to him in Dubai, where he received a Rolex Award for Enterprise.
My first visit to Petra was in 1982. I remember it well. I was so amazed and excited, but at the same time depressed by the deterioration of the monuments. It occurred to me that I might be able to help. I knew that this chemical erosion was something that I could study.
Water from rain and flash floods is dissolving the cementing agents in the rocks, breaking down their structural properties and strengths. Then there’s wind erosion, which, combined with water damage, the scorching sun and earthquakes, are creating even greater problems. Tourism, which, depending on the season, sees between 500 and 3,500 visitors arriving every day, is also exerting pressure, and this figure could easily grow, as currently there is no limit on numbers.
I started reaching out tto different disciplines – such as geology and architecture – to learn more about the processes that are causing Petra’s deterioration. In 1990, a multi-disciplinary committee was formed at the Higher Council of Science and Technology, where I was then working. We decided, first and foremost, that it was essential that we collect all the data that’s available and store it in one place.
If you imagine that Petra is a sick patient, before a doctor can diagnose the problem and administer the correct treatment, he has to get the vital signs – the vital data. In our case, we’re doing the tests and the data gathering to help in the diagnosis of the problems. And once we have all the data, we can begin to create conservation plans. This is the prerequisite for any conservation effort.
We’ve made detailed architectural descriptions – including the dimensions, quality and precise positions of features – using the latest GPS technologies as well as manual surveying. As time went on, we started to use laser scanners to generate 3D images of some of the monuments, which went into a Geographic Information System. This allows us to show particular features on a map, instantly. We also use satellite imagery to analyse environmental data, vegetation, the effect of urbanisation on the vegetation cover and how this might affect the monuments.
Surveying what’s there is very time-consuming. We can’t always use the latest techonologies because in Petra, GPS doesn’t always work – it’s very rugged terrain – and hand surveying is often the only way. Between 1996 and 2006, we surveyed roughly 2,500 monuments.
Contrary to what people believe, there’s still a lot of archaeology yet to be excavated at Petra. It’s most famous for the carved red sandstone facades, but there are somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 features in and around the city.
Visiting Petra is like going back to my roots in a way. Before it was rediscovered, my ancestors lived there, before moving north. Working there, I feel like an eternal tourist – I always seem to find something new – it just keeps surprising you.
I am a chemist by trade, and my initial specialisation didn’t have anything remotely to do with Petra and storm damage and so on. But chemists have been playing a big role in conservation all over the world. We can measure and determine the materials that make up archaeological objects and we can advise on what kind of chemicals we should use to protect historical monuments.
Right now, we’re two to three years away from completing the documentation of Petra. This will not only underpin future efforts to conserve the site, but will also act as a conservation step in its own right. If we lose a loved one, the next best thing to having them around is to have photographs, letters and other things to remember them by. With weathering, it’s a question of delaying the process, not necessarily preventing it. So the documentation
[of Petra] has a lot of value in terms of keeping the memory of it alive, preparing for its conservation and for its day-to-day management. The Petra Park Authority can already access the existing data and is using it to choose the areas that should be avoided by tourists, for example.
Once we finish building the geoarchaeological database, we would like to build a website and make it accessible to all – and this Rolex Award for Enterprise will give us the chance to finish this important phase.
Curriculum vitae
1947 Born in Amman, Jordan
1970 Bachelor of Science, American University of Beirut
1972 Master of Science, American University of Beirut
1976 PhD, University of Califorina (Los Angeles)
1982 First visit to Petra
1990–96 Director of Environment and Development Sector at the Higher Council of Science and Technology
1996–date Professor of chemistry, Hashemite University, Jordan
2000–03 Dean, Queen Rania’s Institute for Tourism and Heritage
2008 Awarded Rolex Award for Enterprise
To find out more about Talal Akasheh and the four other recipients of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise 2008, visit www.rolexawards.com.
May 2009
My first visit to Petra was in 1982. I remember it well. I was so amazed and excited, but at the same time depressed by the deterioration of the monuments. It occurred to me that I might be able to help. I knew that this chemical erosion was something that I could study.
Water from rain and flash floods is dissolving the cementing agents in the rocks, breaking down their structural properties and strengths. Then there’s wind erosion, which, combined with water damage, the scorching sun and earthquakes, are creating even greater problems. Tourism, which, depending on the season, sees between 500 and 3,500 visitors arriving every day, is also exerting pressure, and this figure could easily grow, as currently there is no limit on numbers.
I started reaching out tto different disciplines – such as geology and architecture – to learn more about the processes that are causing Petra’s deterioration. In 1990, a multi-disciplinary committee was formed at the Higher Council of Science and Technology, where I was then working. We decided, first and foremost, that it was essential that we collect all the data that’s available and store it in one place.
If you imagine that Petra is a sick patient, before a doctor can diagnose the problem and administer the correct treatment, he has to get the vital signs – the vital data. In our case, we’re doing the tests and the data gathering to help in the diagnosis of the problems. And once we have all the data, we can begin to create conservation plans. This is the prerequisite for any conservation effort.
We’ve made detailed architectural descriptions – including the dimensions, quality and precise positions of features – using the latest GPS technologies as well as manual surveying. As time went on, we started to use laser scanners to generate 3D images of some of the monuments, which went into a Geographic Information System. This allows us to show particular features on a map, instantly. We also use satellite imagery to analyse environmental data, vegetation, the effect of urbanisation on the vegetation cover and how this might affect the monuments.
Surveying what’s there is very time-consuming. We can’t always use the latest techonologies because in Petra, GPS doesn’t always work – it’s very rugged terrain – and hand surveying is often the only way. Between 1996 and 2006, we surveyed roughly 2,500 monuments.
Contrary to what people believe, there’s still a lot of archaeology yet to be excavated at Petra. It’s most famous for the carved red sandstone facades, but there are somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 features in and around the city.
Visiting Petra is like going back to my roots in a way. Before it was rediscovered, my ancestors lived there, before moving north. Working there, I feel like an eternal tourist – I always seem to find something new – it just keeps surprising you.
I am a chemist by trade, and my initial specialisation didn’t have anything remotely to do with Petra and storm damage and so on. But chemists have been playing a big role in conservation all over the world. We can measure and determine the materials that make up archaeological objects and we can advise on what kind of chemicals we should use to protect historical monuments.
Right now, we’re two to three years away from completing the documentation of Petra. This will not only underpin future efforts to conserve the site, but will also act as a conservation step in its own right. If we lose a loved one, the next best thing to having them around is to have photographs, letters and other things to remember them by. With weathering, it’s a question of delaying the process, not necessarily preventing it. So the documentation
[of Petra] has a lot of value in terms of keeping the memory of it alive, preparing for its conservation and for its day-to-day management. The Petra Park Authority can already access the existing data and is using it to choose the areas that should be avoided by tourists, for example.
Once we finish building the geoarchaeological database, we would like to build a website and make it accessible to all – and this Rolex Award for Enterprise will give us the chance to finish this important phase.
Curriculum vitae
1947 Born in Amman, Jordan
1970 Bachelor of Science, American University of Beirut
1972 Master of Science, American University of Beirut
1976 PhD, University of Califorina (Los Angeles)
1982 First visit to Petra
1990–96 Director of Environment and Development Sector at the Higher Council of Science and Technology
1996–date Professor of chemistry, Hashemite University, Jordan
2000–03 Dean, Queen Rania’s Institute for Tourism and Heritage
2008 Awarded Rolex Award for Enterprise
To find out more about Talal Akasheh and the four other recipients of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise 2008, visit www.rolexawards.com.
May 2009
