Iraq and Unesco, the UN cultural organisation, have signed an agreement worth $873,000 (£546,000) in an effort to save the World Heritage Site of Samarra Archaeological City.

The project to conserve the 1,200-year-old site will start with the restoration of the Great Mosque and Al-Malwiyah Minaret, a unqiue example of the Islamic tower that incorporates a square base and a spiral exterior staircase.

Iraqi security forces have been gathering in Samarra, some 130km north of Baghdad on the banks of the river Tigris, in recent days to deter anticipated Islamic State attacks.

The Al-Malwiyah minaret is more than 1,000 years old and has suffered damage as the result of conflict in Iraq Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty

Samarra contains the remains of an Islamic city that during most of the 9th century served as the capital of the Abbasid Empire, which extended from Tunisia to central Asia.

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The World Heritage site there has been on Unesco’s list of places “in danger” since 2007. Although there is no evidence that Isil has attacked the archaeological site, the Islamist group has reportedly struck the neighbouring modern city this year, resulting in deaths.

It has also wreaked damage and destruction to other ancient cities in Iraq. A video emerged earlier this year showing members of the group attacking the ancient city of Hatra, while in April they partially destroyed Nimrud, dating from the 13th century BC.

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When Samarra was declared a threatened site in 2007, Unesco said that since the start of the 2003 Iraq War it had been "occupied by multinational forces that use it as a theatre for military operations".

In 2005, an explosion perpetrated by unidentified insurgents blew the top off the 52-metre Al-Malwiyah Minaret, leaving “crumbled brick and clay” on its winding steps, according to the BBC. US troops had been using it as a look-out post, and at the time Iraq's antiquities officials reportedly expressed concern that US soldiers caused “significant damage” to historic sites, including the walls of an ancient palace.

The 9th-century Great Mosque and the Al-Malwiyah Minaret, made of sun-dried and baked brick, are among the numerous remarkable architectural monuments of the large (41.5 by 4 to 8km) site, 80 per cent of which remains to be excavated.

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The Al-Malwiyah Minaret will be repaired as part of a project costing nearly USD $1 milion Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty

Speaking in Paris, where the Unesco agreement was signed this week, Ahmed Abdullah Abed Abed, Iraqi minister of state of governorate and parliamentarian affairs, said that the preservation of Samarra was “an important part of the war against terrorism taking place in Iraq”.

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He said that the site was one of the most emblematic places of Islamic civilisation: “The terrorism we are experiencing poses a grave threat to our country and for all the cultural sites in our country. Terrorism is no longer limited to one country, it can strike anybody anywhere.”

The first phase of the preservation project – expected to cost USD $853,000, to be met by the Governorate of Salah-Al-Din province – will last 18 months and focus on training archaeologists, conservation specialists, architects, engineers, site managers and other professionals involved in protecting and managing the property.

Samarra Archaeological Site is one of the largest ancient sites in the area, and most of it has not been excavated Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty

The UN body and Iraqi authorities also intend to raise awareness among the local community of the importance of safeguarding historical and archaeological resources, “through the publication of appropriate materials, such as illustrated books”.

Although the UK Foreign Office currently advises against travelling to Iraq, Samarra was once one of the country’s main draws for tourists compelled to see the minaret’s idiosyncratic style and learn about the thousands of years of history played out at the site.

Other holy sites in the main city have previously been the target of insurgent attacks: in 2006 the golden dome of the city’s al-Aksari mosque was bombed, with the site only reopening in 2009.