Shafaq News – Karbala

Iraq has begun work to rehabilitate the ancient Al-Aqiser Church in Karbala province for tourism, the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage revealed on Saturday.

In a statement, the board said a technical committee from the Karbala Antiquities and Heritage Inspectorate started preparing cost estimates and rehabilitation studies, as part of efforts to upgrade heritage infrastructure and preserve major archaeological sites.

Al-Aqiser Church, among the oldest Christian churches in the Middle East, lies in the western desert of Karbala province near Ain Tamr, about five kilometers from the historic Al-Ukhaidir Fortress.

Archaeological studies date the church to the fifth century AD, linking it to Nestorian Christians who settled in the area under the Lakhmid state, which was aligned with the Sassanid Empire during its rivalry with the Byzantine Empire.

The complex contains Aramaic inscriptions, cross motifs and a raised altar oriented toward Jerusalem, and covers about 4,000 square meters including ancillary structures.

The project follows a September 2024 warning by the antiquities authority that climate change and other environmental factors were accelerating deterioration at the site.

Archaeologists have also identified a second church outside the main enclosure, believed to have been used for burial rites, along with dozens of tombs oriented toward Jerusalem. Nearby mounds suggest a larger ancient settlement once stood in the area.

Read more: Iraq's historic Al-Aqiser church threatened by climate change