8/8/2019 Big Issue in the North - Dead Sea

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16 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH · 10-16 NOV 2008

pipeline that the Jordanian and Israeli governments,the Palestinian Authority and the World Bank areproposing to build between the Dead and Red Seas.

“Whatever route it may take, they claim that quite anarrow area is going to be affected by the pipeline,”he says. “I’m not sure I believe that. I think that anykind of construction work is going to affect muchwider areas – 150 or more miles of cutting all the wayfrom Aqaba to the Dead Sea, all sorts of machineryand workers moving through. The amount of peopleand machinery going through will probably be morethan has ever been through the region in the whole of its history, and so the impact not only onarchaeological sites but on the environment and thecurrent population is going to be huge.”

The Wadi Arabah Project, which ProfessorBienkowski helped to found, will be carrying outwidespread archaeological impact assessments on theentire region likely to be affected by the pipeline.“Undoubtedly there are things to be found, there arewhole areas which are archaeological terraincognita,” he predicts.

Groups such as Friends of the Earth Middle East

The lowest point on earth, its waters barren of lifeand full of concentrated salts, the Dead Sea issurrounded by spectacular desert and ferocioussunlight. It looks untouchable, its vibrant blue waterand sunbaked rock eternal in their strength. DeadSea water contains a high concentration of salts,which are believed to help cure skin problems andrespiratory diseases.

But all is not well. Situated at the meeting point of Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, the Dead Sea’sshores are disputed. The industries that have helpedto make it so famous are damaging its environmentand the ancient remains around it. And now thewater is drying out, and plans to refill it with aUS$5 billion pipeline from the Red Sea are attractingcontroversy.

Piotr Bienkowski, deputy director of ManchesterMuseum, knows the Dead Sea region well. Anarchaeologist, his speciality has long been the ancientpeoples of southern Jordan, particularly those of thearea around and to the south of the Dead Sea knownas the Wadi Arabah.

He’s concerned about the impacts of the canal or

Cleopatra and the Queen of Sheba beautified themselves with theDead Sea’s mud and salts. Modern cosmetic companies claim to harness

its mysterious benefits, while tourist resorts along its shores promote its

health-giving qualities. But this iconic water and its fragile surrounds are

under threat, as Sarah Irving discovered

Sea change

Water levels are droppingin the Dead Sea, whilefactories and tourism causepollution. The Dead SeaScrolls were discovered incaves in the 1940s.Photos: Sarah Irving, LaurenWeinhold and Hoshana

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