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Title
New perspectives to save cultural heritage
Author
Altan, M. Orhan

CIPA 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey
613
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pound the
for the
archaeological sites can be produced on the
panchromatic satellite images. We have also
produced detailed GIS maps from the sites A19
and A 27 at Tar al-Sbai. A computerized 3-D
animated view 13 km towards the western Plateau
was constructed from the site A 27 which is
located on a protruding spur. (See Tar al- Sbai
with the visualisation of the site locations on a
satellite map and views in a Power Point slide
show: http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/arla/sygis).
Preference to build and live at the edge of the
escarpment is obvious at Tar al-Sbai, because the
number and density of the remains diminish from
the edge towards the central parts and summit of
the mountain. Environment largely dictates the
type of archaeological remains in the area. The
plateau beneath is covered with dozens of square
kilometers by accumulated open Palaeolithic sites
exemplified with countless flint tools and debitage
extending to the oasis of Al Kowm (see Fig. 1.),
where a Swiss archaeological team is working. On
the western piedmont area of Jebel Bishri we also
encountered Late Roman graves in the
neighbourhood of the Eastern Roman Frontier
zone.
The study of the riverine side of the mountain has
started in 2003. As expected, it is covered with
sedentary remains. According to our satellite
image and photograph prospecting, several small
tells exist between the mountain edge and the
Euphrates. Radar equipments will assist in the
study of the plateaus accumulated with silts
beneath the mountain due to run-off mechanisms
after the rainy seasons. Marble quarries used by
Mesopotamian civilizations are already detectable
in the area.
3. CONCLUSIONS
AND DISCUSSION
LANDSAT-7 ETM image has served as a good
source for general field surveying and mapping, as
an aid for constructing topographical models and
for environmental queries. The visualisation of the
locations for the archaeological remains of mobile
people is possible with the panchromatic channel
of LANDS AT-7 ETM when the UTM
coordinates have been obtained on the ground.
However, our field study in situ in the region of
Jebel Bishri, especially at Tar al-Sbai, made it
clear that apart from the larger sedentary remains,
the smaller structures such as the flimsy remains
of nomadic and hunter-gatherer habitation sites
remain undetectable with the LANDSAT images.
Images with better spatial resolution are needed
for the actual recognition of the remains such as
rock shelters, stone circles and caims/tumuli
representing mobile cultures. The CORONA
declassified satellite photographs and QuickBird
images are especially helpful for this purpose.
In the study and mapping of Jebel Bishri region
certain issues concerning the ancient remains of
mobile cultures and their preservation have
evolved. The representation of the hunter-gatherer
or nomadic sites has been strikingly scanty in the
protection works of the cultural heritage
programs even if these sites provide landscapes
with rich human past and are worth preserving in
their genuine appearance. The focus on the
cultural heritage of the sedentary remains and
civilizations with written sources is dominating.
Recently critical views have, however, been
expressed concerning the imbalance, e.g., in the
World Heritage List (see, e.g. Jokilehto 1998).
For example, in the Near East the nomadic life has
endured from the Neolithic Period and has shaped
the local cultural thinking not to mention the past
hunter-gather activity of mankind that easily
exceeds the period of agricultural and sedentary
life. Jebel Bishri offers grounds for studying the
tent-based nomads' and village herders' past
compared with the present day cycle in the region.
The area has been a rich cultural and
environmental mosaic for millennia.