Ras Al Khaimah restores historic Al Jazirah Al Hamra watchtower

Ras Al Khaimah Department of Antiquities and also Museums has finished significant remediation works to the Emirate's historic watchtowers.

Located merely outside Al Jazirah Al Hamra - an old maritime village renowned for its angling, pearl diving as well as boat structure - the watchtower is about 100 years old and was a significant part of the area's defence system.

The tower was constructed utilizing standard products, such as coral and also coastline stone, mangrove beams, and also palm leaves. Situated on dunes back on the landmass, it safeguarded Al Jazirah Al Hamra's water wells in addition to protecting the settlement, which was once an island, from attack. The restored tower is one of two standing to this day on these dunes.

Its usage as a protective stronghold gradually declined from the 1950s with the development of civil growth, while Al Jazirah Al Hamra was linked to the landmass by the 1970s through land development works.

Over the past few years, parts of the tower's roof covering broke down, and several of its stonework fell into disrepair. The Department of Antiquities and also Museums developed a comprehensive record of its building functions and also decided on the repairs that needed to be done. Work began in April, with workers injecting a mortar made of standard materials, such as lime, right into the wall surfaces to stabilize the structure.

" The standard method of wall-building leaves spaces as well as voids in the structure. The tower was built using the very same technique, which is one of the factors for its partial collapse," claimed Ahmed Hilal, Director of Archaeology at the Department.

" No chemicals or modern-day materials were used in the repair work to mirror the original process as well as keep the tower's historic stability," stated Mr Hilal. "We have likewise tried to stay clear of product including salt, which is a major trouble in numerous structures because it can create deterioration."

The remediation took around four weeks, with employees also restoring its roofing, repairing its primary door and also invigorating a few of its plasterwork.

" The 11.9-metre high tower is a classic example of a traditional defensive structure," claimed Mr Hilal. "Its restoration kinds part of our mandate to secure Ras Al Khaimah's invaluable heritage as well as safeguard it for future generations."

The Division of Antiquities and Museums is dealing with strategies to open the tower to the public and also consequently display an aspect of the Emirate's rich historical tapestry to a bigger audience. Al Jazirah Al Hamra, on the other hand, has been the topic of a different significant remediation effort by the Department over the past few years.

The conservation efforts consolidated a significant part of a strategy to record all standard buildings in Ras Al Khaimah. More than 1,600 frameworks have been recorded as well as mapped as part of the Department's strategy until now, with 75 being towers. A variety of these towers are comparable defensive strongholds to the Al Jazirah Al Hamra building, while others belong to more prominent forts or civilian structures.