Within the study and research activities of the MOEBHIOS project, the village of Battir was a subject of documentation of its minor heritage sites.
Battir has been a UNESCO Site in Danger since 2014, thanks to a nomination for its outstanding criteria as Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, a symbol of the Palestinian Land of Olives and Vines. The Battir hill landscape comprises a series of farmed valleys, known as “widian”, with characteristic stone terraces. The development of terrace farming in such a mountainous region is supported by a network of irrigation channels fed by underground sources. (Source UNESCO)
In addition to its environmental heritage, Battir has an important architectural heritage, widespread throughout the landscape to represent different historical phases and cultural values of the village community. The Roman site includes a spring, Roman baths and pools that establish the irrigation system of the terraces. The ruins of Al-Khirbeh, on the side hill, define the ancient settlement, now largely damaged by settler incursions.
The village includes two “maqamat” (holy shrines), Maqam Abu Yazied Al Bastami and Maqam Al Sheik Khattab, minor architectural sites of the widespread maqam typology in Palestine, linked to social and spiritual memories of the site. The two sites are part of the maqam route between Bethlehem and Hebron/Al-Khalil and, more generally, can be linked to the widespread maqamat mapping on the territory between Israel and the West Bank. Their conformation and cultural enhancement are central to the significance of rural settlements, in comparison to their permanence in denser settlement contexts (e.g., Lodd, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem) or in the sites of destroyed Palestinian villages (e.g., Imwas/Emmaus, today Canada Park).
The first documentation phase included the application of close-range photogrammetric surveying methodologies with ground cameras, 360° cameras and ultra-light UAVs. Through the acquisition of high-resolution photographic sets, digital measurements in the format of 3D metric point clouds were reconstructed for each maqam. The high-detail (5 mm) datasets present RGB material information, and document the architectural, construction and landscape context detail of the maqamat. The site surveys were conducted by Dr. Raffaella De Marco, together with students from Al-Quds University of Jerusalem Sara Owainah and Meron Nasser, in collaboration with the Municipality of Battir represented by Eng. Mohammad Harbouk.
Following the surveys, a visit to the municipality was focused by Eng. Mohammad Harbouk on the history of the development of Battir, its rural architecture, and the ongoing critical issues for its protection with reference to the geo-political territorial structure.
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