The Iraqi government is preparing to renovate the ancient city of Ur, which is facing increasing threats from climate-related degradation.
The Ministry of Culture's General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage has estimated the cost of the work at 19 billion Iraqi dinars ($14.5 million), according to Iraq's al-Sabah newspaper.
The authority's Director General, Mohammed al-Bayati, told the paper that the renovations aimed to develop the site and ensure its preservation for the future.
Al-Bayati added that the effort is to facilitate tourism to the area and highlight Iraq's cultural heritage.
Iraq's ancient city of Ur, birthplace of the Biblical patriarch Abraham, is located in the country's south near the modern city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's Dhi Qar province.
It hosts numerous archaeological sites, the most famous of which is the Ziggurat of Ur, a stepped pyramid dating back 4,000 years that has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The shrine, dedicated to the moon god Nanna, is one of the best-preserved sites of Mesopotamian architecture from the Sumerian Empire.
Ur is located in what was ancient Mesopotamia, often referred to as the cradle of civilisations due to the fertility of the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers that spawned several ancient empires.
However, the site is increasingly being threatened by climate change, with wind and sand dunes, an increasing phenomenon in Iraq, causing erosion at the shrine.
Other sites in Ur are also facing climate-related threats, including the Royal Cemetery of Ur, which is being eaten away by salt deposits that have appeared.
Iraq is currently experiencing some of the most devastating impacts of climate change in the region, with desertification destroying nearly 50 percent of the country's arable land annually.
Likewise, Iraq's two mighty rivers are also dying, largely due to upstream dams in Turkey and Iran, with water flows falling to less than 25 percent of the level needed for national agriculture.
Iraq's authorities warned earlier this year was the driest since 1933 and that water reserves are down to eight percent of their full capacity.