Steps to the Ziggurat of Ur. Everett Historical/Shutterstock. All rights reserved.
A conference held in April by the Association of Iraqi Academics, Iraqi Association, Iraqi Women League, and the British Institute for the Study of Iraq discussed challenges and solutions involved in the task of rescuing Iraq's endangered cultural and archaeological sites.
As cultural property crimes
in Iraq reach new levels of depravity, the Association of Iraqi Academics congregated
in London recently to explore ways of countering ISIL’s assault against
Iraq's vibrant past.
A thick sense of mourning,
melancholia, and anger filed the lecture theatre where an audience of
approximately 150 listened to a disturbing review of their country's recent
past.
Recurrent episodes of illegal
digging, pillaging and reckless destruction have transformed Iraq's urban
fabric so much that some of the country's historical chapters are lost
beyond recovery.
The phenomenon, as one
audience member recounted, has indeed been a recurrent theme, stretching as far
back as the sacking of Baghdad in the year 1258 by Mongol ruler, Hulegu Khan.
Dr John Curtis emphasised that today's tragedies illuminate a story starkly
different to that before 2003. Heritage preservation efforts prior to
the first Gulf War were among the best in the region—not to mention the rich
tradition of archaeological research led by highly staffed archaeologists,
trained abroad and locally. This however changed, after the long drawn-out
eight year Iraq-Iran war weakened the state's capacity to protect cultural
heritage sites.
ISIL, and those before
them, reanimate the tale of the Mongol conquest, not only by desecrating holy sites, but also by cultivating necessary conditions on which illicit trafficking in cultural heritage has flourished beyond
the nation's borders.
The dilemma of protecting
cultural property extended into the 1990s as unthinkable levels of desperation—stimulated
beneath punitive sanctions—lured many into the underground trade of looted
antiquities. “Lessons” from the past, Curtis commented, “were not learned”, as the
lackadaisical
management of occupational
forces in 2003 led to a sharp
increase in antiquity theft.
The recent battering Iraq's
antiquities have suffered at the hands of ISIL marks not only a continuation of the
past but a new era of visible destruction, as criminal gangs flaunt arrogance
and boastfulness on social media platforms.
In September last year the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, described ISIL's efforts as a "crude
attempt to erase the heritage of an ancient civilization will ultimately fail.
No terrorist can rewrite history".
In Mosul, where the damage is
distinctly apparent, some 250 historic buildings have been irreparably damaged
or completely razed
to the ground. The new-Assyrian North-West Palace of King Ashurnasirpal,
"is nothing more than a heap of rubble," as Curtis described it.
As scarring are the
circulating images of ISIL attacking limestone statues inside Mosul museum last
month—an incident that will be deeply etched in the communal memory of
Iraqis for decades to come.
The tomb of Jonah, Ibn al-Athir
and al-Bint, as well as the shrines of Ahmed Al-Rifai, Fathi al-Ka'en, Imam Ou'wm, Imam al Dor, Sayyda Zainab and Yehya Ibn al Kassim are but
a few of Mosul's cultural treasures forever lost.
Iraqi archaeologist, Lamia
Al-Gailani, who spent the past few years cataloguing patterns of cultural
property destruction, said that fairly contemporary Shi'a shrines were ISIL's
initial target, then “little by little” Sufi shrines vanished from the urban
landscape, and now ancient Christian monasteries have been transformed from
places of worship into detention centres.
Audible gasps and tittering
echoed loudly as the audience watched in horror photo evidence of the plundered
sites where mud-brick metropolises once stood proudly.
Assyriologist, Professor
Al-Rawi, speaking on how to best challenge ISIL's systematic campaign of
destruction, said it is noteworthy to remember that:
"Iraqi civilisation
flourished due to diversity, and its multi-layered archaeological landscape
bears testimony to the intermingling of civilisations…These groups seek to in-dignify
and deny the existence of these civilisations".
The fact that the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage has been subsumed under the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has only aggravated the
situation, Dr Farouq warned ."So long as the responsibility of protecting
sites of archaeological significance remains misplaced", the problem will
remain irresolvable.
One of the solutions he
proposed is the “excavation of unfound antiquities”. His vision involves local
grassroots and international associations working jointly on excavation
projects, where each new recovery represents a miniature triumph. This, Farouq
asserted, "is how we defeat ISIL, since Iraq is a constant provider of
abundant cultural treasures".
While several hurdles
remain, keynote speakers and attendees proposed solutions intended to halt ISIL
in their path of destruction. These
included:
–
Applying renewed pressure on the Iraqi government to act responsively in its
duty to protect cultural sites, and on the international community to widely
condemn the terror organisation.
– Calling upon the Iraqi government to fund
joint excavation initiatives and restoration efforts.
– Calling
upon religious clerics and Marjaiyyat to
prohibit antiquity theft and cultural heritage destruction.
–
Calling upon those unknown parties providing logical and financial support to
criminal gangs/looters to halt funding.
–
Registering and documenting ancient sites, artefacts and new discoveries
according to satellite images.
– Developing an education system teaching
Iraqis about the importance of cultural heritage sites and antiquities.
– Lobbying the British
government to prevent further entry of stolen items from Iraq into Britain.
The question Iraq faces, however, is whether its heritage can indeed be rescued amid lawlessness,
violence, and widespread destitution. The challenge is both political and
cultural. Above all else, it requires state backing and unwavering commitment.
Keynote speakers agreed
that if political instability continues, foreseeable rescue missions can only
occupy a position of insignificance on the state's itinerary, as other pressing
concerns demand more immediate action.
But as Dr Gailani cautioned
"there is no quick fix", it has to be "a longer spanning
project" which needs to be consistently maintained.