إرث حجر العقد تحت المجهر: هل المناخ وحده المسؤول؟

Microscope: Is Climate Alone Responsible?

Prepared by: Hanan Abu Srour — Science Journalism Report

From Cracks in the Stone to the Starting Question?

Here, our story began.

In Deir Ghassaneh, all it takes is standing in front of one of the old buildings for a question to begin taking over your thoughts: How did these buildings reach the condition they are in today?

Cracks stretch across the walls, stones have fallen from their places, and the doors of some houses have remained closed for years.

At first glance, the scene may seem to tell a simple story about old buildings worn down by time. But the closer you look, the more another question imposes itself: Was time alone responsible? Or were there other factors that gradually left their mark on these buildings?

This was the question with which the journey began.

For thirty days, I followed documents, searched through archives, visited the buildings in the village, and listened to the stories of residents, researchers, engineers, and people who had followed the condition of these buildings over the years.

The aim of the work was not to seek a ready-made answer, but to test what could actually be established.

Deir Ghassaneh… A History Read on Its Walls

Deir Ghassaneh is located northwest of Ramallah, at an elevation of around 480 meters, and is part of the Bani Zeid al-Gharbi Municipality alongside Beit Rima.

Its historic center carries layers of Palestinian architectural and social history. The old buildings are not simply stone structures; their walls, courtyards, roofs, and abandoned rooms preserve part of the story of the people who lived there.

historic center, prepared in 2005, documented 279 historic buildings, around half of which were abandoned at the time the plan was prepared.

But the documentation and study did not determine the cause of the deterioration, and the building we stand before today raises new questions.

I returned to the documents once again.

In 2016, the Department of Architecture at Birzeit University worked on a project for the rehabilitation and revitalization of the historic center of Deir Ghassaneh. The project included an analysis and assessment of the condition of the center and the development of a vision for its protection and revitalization. It was prepared by Dr. Salem Thuaba, Eng. Rula Khalili, and Eng. Alaa Abu Awad.

However, the question remained: What exactly caused the deterioration we see today?

When Rain Beats Against Stone… Physical and Chemical Mechanisms

Rain may seem far removed from the idea of a stone building deteriorating, but science tells us that the relationship between water and stone is more complicated than simply rain falling on its surface.

Research by the Getty Conservation Institute explains that stone deterioration can result from multiple physical and chemical mechanisms, and that changes in moisture and temperature, together with exposure to wind and rain, can contribute to processes of stone deterioration.

The ICOMOS archive also explains that the deterioration of stone construction often results from a combination of chemical and physical causes, and that changes in temperature and moisture can lead to weathering and physical deterioration in some building materials.

As for moisture, its effects do not stop at visible wetness. Water entering porous materials can help carry salts through them, and under certain conditions, salt crystallization can contribute to damage to stone and historic building materials.

The Getty Conservation Institute describes the interaction between water and salts as a known and complex problem in the conservation of stone and historic architecture.

This explains why a damp spot or salt deposits can be more than just a visual trace.

But does this mean that these mechanisms are what caused the damage found in Deir Ghassaneh?

Not necessarily.

General scientific knowledge explains what can happen to stone, but it does not, by itself, determine what happened.

What Do the Testimonies Say… Do They Confirm or Refute?

After what I had reached through the information and documents, it was time for the testimonies—from experts to members of the village who are interested in these buildings. My first stop was:

Researcher Marwan Samarat, who is interested in Palestinian history, archaeology, and heritage, read, during our conversation about Deir Ghassaneh, what nature and the passing years had left on its stones.

Through his visit to the village and his field observations, he believes that rain, moisture, and climatic factors can leave their mark on old buildings, and that the stones of Deir Ghassaneh are not immune to this.

From a general scientific perspective, he pointed to the white salt deposits that may indicate the effect of moisture and the movement of salts. He also noted that changes in soil color or the appearance of dark layers may open questions about conditions or historical events that the place experienced, including the possibility of traces associated with wars.

The observation of salt deposits is consistent with scientific literature on stone conservation. But visual inspection alone does not establish the cause of the damage. Therefore, Samarat’s observations were treated as a field reading that raises possibilities, not as conclusive evidence.

As for the Second Stop…

The testimony of traveler and photographer Mohammad Al-Shaibi, known as “Abu Nuh,” added another angle to the field observation.

He said that while moving through Deir Ghassaneh, he noticed some archaeological ruins and shrines that had undergone changes or sustained damage. He attributed some of these changes to human interventions carried out by people whose identities he was unable to determine, including demolition or alterations to parts of the buildings.

This testimony remains within the framework of personal observation, but it points to the possibility that direct human factors may also enter the course of change affecting some historic sites, alongside climate, neglect, and construction-related factors.

And here is a question that calls on us to pause for a moment.

Is Climate Alone Responsible, or Has a Human Hand Also Become Involved?

The question remains on the table.

Returning to local researcher, historian, and history teacher Rami Sakhr, he explains that some homeowners left the village for the city, while others migrated and traveled abroad, leaving their homes for years without maintenance, as if they were waiting for someone to come to their rescue.

Sakhr points to an abandoned house that collapsed after a snowstorm, while another building had a different fate. It had been in poor condition before restoration work reached it through Palestinian Relief, and it was later converted into a kindergarten.

On the other hand, other buildings remained unchanged or continued to deteriorate.

In a related context, Eng. Bahjat Jabarin, Director General of Environmental Protection at the Environment Quality Authority, points out that weather conditions can cause damage to heritage buildings, such as weathering and erosion. However, in his assessment, their effects usually appear over a very long period of time.

In his view, the greater part of the cracks and damage is linked to the absence of regular maintenance, which allows problems to accumulate. He also pointed out that plants growing inside parts of the building constitute an additional factor in deterioration.

This picture gains another dimension through the testimony of Aya Tahan, a planner and conservation architect at Riwaq, who explained that the institution’s engineers, during their field assessment, linked climatic factors with migration and the neglect that resulted from it.

The Cost of Preserving Stone

When the conversation moves to the cost of preserving heritage, construction and restoration worker Shihab Salem Mashel speaks about the condition of Hosh Dar al-Hashwa.

He considers its restoration to be complex and costly, estimating its cost at around NIS 850,000.

This figure represents an estimate of the condition of the courtyard according to his testimony. It is not an official general estimate for all the buildings of Deir Ghassaneh, but it highlights the scale of the major financial challenge facing continuous maintenance.

Riwaq confirms that it has worked on restoring a number of buildings and prepared a protection plan for the historic town, explaining that protecting the historic fabric requires a system that protects buildings from returning to the same point of deterioration.

Here, I did not rely on the source alone. Aya Tahan, a planner and conservation architect at Riwaq, also gave her testimony. She confirmed the restoration operations carried out as part of the 2005 plan and confirmed that engineers accompanying the institution took part in field visits to Deir Ghassaneh and concluded that climatic factors have an effect on the condition of the buildings.

At the level of the official authorities, Eng. Saed from Bani Zeid Municipality confirmed that climatic factors represent a major factor, alongside the absence of continuous restoration and the migration of residents.

He pointed to a proposed plan for the period from 2027 to 2032 that includes restoration work on a number of buildings, which is scheduled to be submitted to the fund on December 31, 2026.

He also pointed out that the municipality’s role extends to giving buildings new uses, such as Dar Khattab, which was restored and converted into an institution providing services to children with speech difficulties, with support from the Belgian development agency.

What Do the Documents, Testimonies, and Experts Tell Us?

Based on what I collected of documents, field testimonies, and the opinions of experts and engineers, together with what scientific sources explain about the effects of climatic factors on historic stone buildings, it appears that climate is one of the factors contributing to the deterioration of some of Deir Ghassaneh’s historic buildings, particularly as stone and traditional building materials are exposed to moisture and rain, repeated wetting and drying cycles, and changes in temperature.

But the effect of climate does not work alone.

The second factor is the limited ability to continue restoration and maintenance work, leaving small forms of damage to accumulate over time and increasing the vulnerability of the buildings.

The migration of residents and leaving a number of historic houses unoccupied or without regular maintenance further aggravates the problem, as the buildings lose part of the daily care that once protected them from water infiltration and the accumulation of damage.

The report also reveals another challenge related to limited financial and technical resources, including limited access to specialized laboratory testing tools that could help determine the nature of deterioration and its causes more precisely. This makes examining the condition of the stone more difficult.

Accordingly, the deterioration of historic buildings in Deir Ghassaneh does not appear to be the result of a single factor, but rather of an interaction between the effects of climate, the difficulty of sustaining restoration and maintenance, population migration, limited resources, and technical and laboratory limitations.

While no single factor can be held fully responsible for this deterioration, the evidence collected indicates that climate remains a major factor, with its effects becoming more pronounced when the community’s and institutions’ ability to carry out continuous maintenance and respond early to damage declines.

After Understanding the Causes… How Can We Protect What Remains?

Throughout thirty days of living alongside the story, searching through documents, and listening to the stories of village residents and specialists, the question did not stop at “Why did the buildings deteriorate?”

Rather, the more difficult question imposed itself with every stone that fell:

What can be done to save what remains?

The answers did not come by chance. They took shape through open discussions that took place with people from the village, and through engineering and legal consultations that addressed possible ways of protection.

What I present here is not binding decisions or definitive judgments. Rather, it is a summary of general proposals that I came across during the journey of this research, while the final word remains with the evidence and facts that I presented in the body of this report.

Suggestions and Open Questions for Protection

• Reviewing Legal Frameworks and Incentives: Based on discussions with specialists, there appears to be a need to continue reviewing legislation related to heritage protection in a way that strengthens the protection of historic buildings from demolition or alteration, while exploring supportive incentives for property owners to preserve their architectural characteristics.
• Moving Beyond Temporary Funding: Calls emerged for the importance of finding sustainable funding mechanisms that move beyond seasonal and fragmented projects and provide practical solutions for buildings facing complicated ownership issues or requiring urgent intervention.
• Strengthening the Role of Relevant Authorities: There is a need to continue coordination between municipalities, heritage authorities, researchers, and building owners, so that the protection of historic buildings does not remain dependent on individual initiatives or temporary projects.
• Sustainable Adaptive Reuse: Among the ideas discussed was the reuse of some historic buildings in ways that preserve their identity and give them a continuing life, such as converting some of them into heritage cafés or cultural centers, which could help cover part of their maintenance and protection costs.
• Digital Documentation as a Line of Defense: Given the limited documentation available, the importance of developing digital archives for historic buildings becomes clear. In the future, this could include three-dimensional scanning, helping document their condition and identify intervention priorities before the damage worsens.
• Preserving Traditional Construction and Restoration Skills: Using the remaining local expertise and training a new generation of young people from the village in traditional construction and restoration methods could help preserve the knowledge associated with these buildings, their materials, and their architectural characteristics.
• Raising Community Awareness: The protection of historic buildings does not stop at official authorities, as their survival is also connected to residents’ awareness of their value and to involving the local community in identifying threatened buildings and proposing practical ways to preserve them.
• Creating a Sustainable National Protection Mechanism: Among the ideas that emerged during the research was the need to consider a mechanism or national fund dedicated to protecting heritage buildings, so that restoration efforts do not remain dependent on temporary funding or on a project that ends when its period ends.

1. Riwaq – Deir Ghassaneh 🔗: Riwaq’s historic buildings registry, Deir Ghassaneh page, including the village’s location, historic buildings, use and abandonment, types of surfaces and roofs, restoration work, and the protection plan.
2. Riwaq – Historic Center and Protection Plan 🔗: Information on the historic fabric and the cultural heritage protection plan prepared in 2005.
3. Birzeit University – Department of Architecture (2016) 🔗: Rehabilitation and Revitalization Project for the Historic Center of Deir Ghassaneh — analysis and assessment of the condition of the center and development of a vision for its protection and revitalization. Prepared by Dr. Salem Thuaba, Eng. Rula Khalili, and Eng. Alaa Abu Awad.
4. Palestine Museum Digital Archive – Riwaq Collection 🔗: Archival materials and photographs related to Deir Ghassaneh and photographic records of Hosh Al-Shaibi.

1. Getty Conservation Institute: Stone Deterioration and Treatment 🔗 — a scientific reference on mechanisms of stone deterioration and the effects of moisture, temperature, wind, and rain.
2. Getty Conservation Institute: Salt Research 🔗 — a reference on the interaction between moisture and salts and the mechanisms of deterioration affecting stone and building materials.
3. ICOMOS Open Archive: The Influence of Temperature and Moisture on Sandstone Masonry Movements 🔗 — a specialized reference on the effects of changes in temperature and moisture on the movement and deterioration of stone masonry.
4. Historic Scotland / ICOMOS: Damp: Causes and Solutions 🔗 — a reference on moisture in historic buildings, its causes, ways of dealing with it, and its relationship to climate change.
5. Getty Conservation Institute: Magnesian Limestone Project 🔗 — a study on the importance of combining repeated documentation, environmental monitoring, and analysis.