In a horrific incident, 3 workers lost their lives while 3 others were injured, following the collapse of part of the wall of the historic Tunisian city of Kairouan, on December 16, during its restoration within a project managed by the National Institute of Heritage and implemented by a private company.
According to the Tunisian official news agency, the project to restore the wall of the ancient city of Kairouan falls within the rehabilitation of a number of archaeological monuments in Kairouan (central), which was launched in 2016 with a financial allocation from the Sultanate of Oman, and the restoration of the wall of the ancient city comes as the last stage of the project.
While the authorities held those responsible for the project responsible and suspended the project manager and the implementing contractor, Tunisian specialists and activists called for protecting the landmarks of a city that has been in existence for 14 centuries.
On Monday, December 18, the spokesman for the Court of First Instance in Kairouan told local IFM radio that it had been decided to retain the contractor in charge of the restoration work of the ancient city wall and the engineer in charge of monitoring, without naming them.
historical city
The ancient city of Kairouan – which was founded in the seventh century AD – consists of adjacent dwellings and narrow streets, and is surrounded by a wall extending for more than 3 kilometers, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
A section of the wall, extending 30 meters and 6 meters high, collapsed near the “Jaladin Gate,” causing the death of the three workers, while the other two suffered fractures and were taken to the hospital, according to local media.
Dr. Riad Al-Murabit, professor of restoration of archaeological monuments at the University of Kairouan (central), said that the Kairouan Wall dates back to the beginnings of the emergence of the city of Kairouan (50 AH / 670 AD).”
Al-Murabit added that the current shape of the wall goes back to Ali al-Husseini, “bey (governor) of Tunisia from 1759 to 1782,” who rebuilt it in 1663 after the wall was affected by political unrest witnessed by the Husseini state (1705-1957 AD) throughout the first half of the 17th century.
He continued: There is no company specialized in restoring archaeological monuments in Tunisia, and the state has not allowed the establishment of companies specialized in archaeological studies and restoration of archaeological monuments.
According to the publications of the Kairouan City Conservation Association (independent), the length of the wall is 3.8 square kilometers, its height is between 4 and 8 meters, and its width is 2.7 meters.
The Tunisian academic continued in an interview with Anatolia, “What happened in the Kairouan Wall is a professional error in the field of restoration as a result of a miscalculation of the wall’s current condition.”
Al-Murabit attributed the cause of the collapse to “a professional error because the wall was treated like any normal building.”
He added, “It is customary in restoration work to divide the work by treating a suit (part of the wall) between two towers whose height does not exceed two meters. However, the contractor opened a restoration distance of approximately 23 meters and did not take into account the rain falling, which saturated the wall with water. The situation is that the heart of the wall is dirt.” “It increased in size and collapsed.”
He also said, “The engineer supervising the restoration of the wall resides in the capital and requested a monitoring mission a week ago, but the National Heritage Institute refused.”
Heritage Institute
Al-Murabit continued: In all cases, it is not the practice of the National Institute of Heritage to continuously monitor restoration work around the clock, as the work requires the presence of a specialized eye monitoring around the clock.
He went on to say, “As an antiquities restoration specialist, I demand that the state allow the creation of companies specializing in the restoration of archaeological sites in which people with university degrees specializing in engineering and heritage work.”
Al-Murabit called for human support for the National Institute of Heritage, stressing that “the institute is working without capabilities.”
It’s a big deal
Samir Fiala, a civil society activist in Kairouan, was met by Anadolu Agency as he looked with regret at the collapsed wall southeast of the ancient city. He said, “The renovations taking place there are an Omani donation approved by the Omani Council of Ministers in 2014 at a value of $1.4 million, and the first installment was disbursed in 2015, which was $500,000.”
Fiala added: Works have taken place since 2014, and we do not know whether they were deep or medium. Then the work stopped, and two months ago the workers returned to work.
The activist continued, “What surprised us was that the person who took the deal was an ordinary contractor who was not specialized in restoring antiquities through a government tender. We do not know if his workers are qualified to carry out such delicate work, despite promises of monitoring.”
He added, “The collapse happened suddenly, and it is a serious matter that happened in Kairouan. We have 3 workers who were working on restoring the wall. They died under the rubble of the collapsed wall.”
A city that is 14 centuries old
“We are in a city that is about 1,400 years old, and it is not easy to find a self-sufficient city like Kairouan,” Fiala says.
He added, “There are three important landmarks that distinguish the state from others in Tunisia: the wall, the Great Mosque (Uqba Ibn Nafi), and the Aghlabid fountain.”
Regarding the importance of the wall for the citizens of Kairouan, Fiala said, “The wall is one of the pillars and emblems of the city of Kairouan.”
For his part, Mr. Al-Allani, the former governor of the Museum of Islamic Civilization and Arts in the city of Raqqada in Kairouan, told Anatolia that the wall is a Husseini one that was restored in the 18th century, and all the materials with which Kairouan was built were preserved, in general, baked bricks and virgin soil.
Al-Alani said, “There is no doubt that water has a relationship with the collapse of the wall, especially in traditional construction.”
He pointed out that there is “a criminal responsibility pursued by the judiciary, and there is a moral responsibility, which is that there is world heritage under threat. Kairouan has been registered in the World Heritage Site since 1988 and it has been a tourist city since 1965, but what we see and what we are witnessing is horrifying.”
Al-Allani said, “After the Tunisian revolution (in 2011), the Association for the Conservation of the Ancient City lost its partnership with the National Institute of Heritage, and the authority to restore sites returned to the National Institute of Heritage.”
He added, “In ancient Kairouan, 50% of the houses are demolished, and there are legal difficulties in renovating them due to the difficulty of obtaining materials that meet specifications and the weakness of government grants to help restore them.” The value of 250 dinars (about 81 dollars) is a one-time grant given to anyone who submits a request to the authorities to improve a home. .
Kairouan used to live on endowments, which were abolished by former President Habib Bourguiba in July 1957, and everything was transferred to the state, according to the governor.
Al-Alani stated, “One of the tasks of the Endowments Association is restoration, and all monuments have endowments, and upon their imposed dissolution, the state will undertake them. The conditions for doing so must be set and laws must be formulated to guarantee this, and the state can do this.”
Heritage protection
Al-Alani said, “Whoever owns a part of the heritage must have cadres and a budget. For example, mosques fall under the jurisdiction of religious affairs, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs does not have a budget for the restoration of mosques nor the scientific cadres that ensure restoration without distortion.”
He called for “a charter (law) to preserve the city of Kairouan because it has its own advantages.”
He continued, “In Kairouan, we are preparing for a major event, which is the 14th century since the founding of the city, about 5 years later, when we reach the year 1450 AH.”
He added: “Kairouan was founded in the year 50 AH, and from there Islam was spread in Africa. It is a major event for which we must prepare.”
Al-Allani added, “If the state is experiencing a financial crisis, and the heritage needs large funding and real cadres, we can use stamps (for donations) that are sold to the heritage service in the city to protect the heritage.”
The work to implement the Omani Gift Project began in the first phase with a number of heritage monuments in Kairouan in 2016. The work has continued over the past years and is about to end soon, according to Tunisian maintenance techniques and standards. The restoration of the ancient city wall comes as the last phase of the project.
The city of Kairouan contains hundreds of important archaeological monuments that document the history of the spread of Islam, the most prominent of which are the Aghlabid fountain, the historical wall, and the Uqba ibn Nafi Mosque.
