Abstract
Abstract. In 2012, the mausoleums of Timbuktu were destroyed by members of the armed forces occupying the North of Mali. After liberation in January 2013, a joint process was launched by the Ministry of Culture of Mali, UNESCO, and the local stakeholders for the gradual reconstruction of these mausoleums, completed in 2016. This has been a long process for heritage structures which, at first glance, appear rather simple and small. However, based on the observations made during the first evaluation mission undertaken in May 2013, it appeared that this question is quite complex. In fact, most of the mausoleums – some at least five hundred years old – had been subjected to numerous changes during their history. This provided a large amount of very interesting new information on the mausoleums, leading to a complete revision of the interpretation of their physical nature and that of their surroundings, as well as of their associated intangible heritage and values. This has also led to numerous questions and discussions concerning the way they should be re-built, including the argument that some of the building techniques had not been used for several decades, and there was a potential need for regular maintenance in the long term. After the description of the process, and discussing the findings and decisions made in the various phases, this paper presents a series of lessons learnt before concluding with some remaining questions.
Highlights
Following a long period of tension, on January 17, 2012, the Malian army officially entered into conflict with some armed groups in the northern zones of the national territory
In addition to imposing a rigorous interpretation of the Sharia1, this occupation took material form in moral and cultural pressures on the local populations, with women forced to wear veils and the imposition of many prohibitions2. They went so far that they purposely destroyed ancient manuscripts and fifteen mausoleums associated with saints located in or near the city of Timbuktu inscribed on the World Heritage List in 19883
This was followed by the organisation of an international meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris – on February 18, 2013 - which resulted in a common declaration by Mali, France and UNESCO : “Nous reconstruirons les mausolées de Tombouctou”
Summary
Following a long period of tension, on January 17, 2012, the Malian army officially entered into conflict with some armed groups in the northern zones of the national territory. In addition to imposing a rigorous interpretation of the Sharia, this occupation took material form in moral and cultural pressures on the local populations, with women forced to wear veils and the imposition of many prohibitions (games, music, sport)2 They went so far that they purposely destroyed ancient manuscripts and fifteen mausoleums associated with saints located in or near the city of Timbuktu inscribed on the World Heritage List in 19883. On January 28, 2013, Timbuktu was liberated and a few days later, French President François Hollande visited the city with the Director General of UNESCO, Mrs Irina Bokova This was followed by the organisation of an international meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris – on February 18, 2013 - which resulted in a common declaration by Mali, France and UNESCO : “Nous reconstruirons les mausolées de Tombouctou”. Three years after its completion, some very interesting lessons can be learnt from both the project and some recent observations made at the mausoleums in relation to the current overall situation in Timbuktu and Mali
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