Protecting the Invisible: Site-Management Planning at Small Archaeological Sites in al-Ain, Abu Dhabi

Abstract

Protection, conservation, and site-management planning are normally financed and conducted on major archaeological sites only, where there are expectations for visitor access and economic returns. Many smaller sites with lesser visible remains are then virtually abandoned, despite the value of their physical remains and archaeological, historical, and scientific potential.A pilot project by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (now Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority) was conducted at Rumeilah, an Iron Age site excavated over the past forty-five years. The project consisted of a full-scale site-management planning process including documentation and assessment of the site conditions and of its administrative context to demonstrate the benefits of applying value and community-based site-management planning processes to ‘invisible’ heritage. The process resulted in the development of a management plan which identifies continued explorations at the site and in the involvement of local schools and universities the activities that will be able to sustain its long-term preservation.

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