The
Iraq War & Archaeology
Reviewed Articles Archive Twenty-Nine: First 1/2
of June 2004
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This is the twenty-ninth archive of the reviewed articles of The Iraq War & Archaeology web site.
Francis Deblauwe,
Ph.D.
The
articles and other information are listed chronologically, most recent
first.
Almost all are accessible for free (or after a free registration) on
the internet. Each time, I try to draw attention to the most
relevant tidbits of information, esp. things that were not mentioned
before; occasionally, I provide some comment. The usual warning
applies: many links become defective with time. Inclusion
in the list does not in any way mean that I necessarily agree with the
opinions expressed in an article. But for a few
exceptions, the occasional photos and figures accompanying
reviewed articles are just hotlinked images on other web sites, in
other words: do not download them or request
permission to publish them from me, for I do not own the copyright
to them in any way! Please do contact the rightful owners if you
would like to use them for publication purposes. Finally, for the sake
of convenience, all articles and so on are assumed to have been
published on US web sites unless indicated otherwise.
- "Troops
must withdraw from archaeological site," in Iraqi Press Monitor (UK), June 14,
2004: "(Al-Taakhi) – Minister of Culture Mufeed al-Jazairi has called
for the withdrawal of American forces from the Babil archaeological
area to a nearby area in order to prevent theft and damage. There had
been damage in the area because of the forces' presence and the heavy
tanks moving there, he said. He added that Iraqi archaeology experts
could enter the area only rarely due to its military status. (Al-Taakhi
is issued daily by the Kurdistan Democratic Party.)"
- N. MacGregor, "In
the shadow of Babylon. If you want to understand Iraq, the British
Museum's collection of its treasures offers some crucial clues," in
The Guardian (UK), June
14, 2004: "The collapse of the Tower of Babel is perhaps the central
urban myth. It is certainly the most disquieting. In Babylon, the great
city that fascinated and horrified the Biblical writers, people of
different races and languages, drawn together in pursuit of wealth,
tried for the first time to live together - and failed. The result was
bleak incomprehension. Ambitious technology defying the natural order
was punished as the tower that tried to reach the skies collapsed.
Irreligion and promiscuity inevitably conjured the apocalypse." "The
antiquities of Mesopotamia reveal the constants of Middle Eastern
politics. Endlessly fluctuating frontiers and proliferating religions
mean endless wars. Here, in the sculptured reliefs, are the cities
bombarded, the hostages taken, the aggressive displays of military
power, the puppet rulers installed, the brutality of militaristic
regimes." [same could of course be said for, say, Europe, or many other
regions of the world]; "The new interim government in Iraq will have to
consider how it defines Iraq's identity. And it will be surprising if
it does not turn, as every other government in the Middle East has
turned, to historical precedents to define the wished-for future." "The
great achievements of Sumeria, Babylon and Assyria follow each other
over thousands of years and encompass the whole country, from south to
north, crossing the modernreligious divides. Like the Islamic and
Ottoman works that follow, they show how quickly this region surmounts
destruction and reasserts its cultural traditions."
- S. Komarow, "Sting
operation halts illegal sales of ancient artifacts," in USA Today, June 13, 2004: "The
police then posed as buyers and tape-recorded the transaction with
hidden microphones." "For historians, the most significant part of the
find might be the several hundred small tablets embossed [sic] with
writing that appears to be public records of an ancient community."
[8-31-04: see also Yahoo! News August 16, 2004]
Photo: "A sting operation has helped Iraqi authorities recover hundreds
of artifacts dating back to biblical times. By Steven Komarow,
USA Today"
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Photo: "Foto: Frederico Gambarini (dpa/dpaweb) - Ein Soldat in den
Ruinen von Babylon." [a [US] soldier in the ruins of Babylon]
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- J. Krane, "Investigation
Into Babylon Damage Ordered," in The
Guardian (UK), June 11, 2004: "U.S. occupation chief L. Paul
Bremer and top military commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez dispatched a
team of archaeologists May 27 to examine construction at the Polish
military's Camp Alpha, which was set up last year to secure the ruins
from looters, a coalition statement said. The remains of Babylon, one
of the world's most important archaeological sites, were occupied since
the early days of the invasion by U.S. Marines and, since September,
soldiers from Poland and other countries." "... ordered all contractors
working in or around the Babylon site to halt construction and
excavation related to the expansion of the base - and any other work
that could damage the ancient sites, a coalition spokeswoman said on
condition of anonymity. Sanchez and Bremer also ordered that planning
begin for the relocation of troops in the immediate area. The orders
were issued June 1 and 2, the spokeswoman said. Investigators reported
there 'might possibly have already been some damage' and that any
further expansion of the Polish-run base would infringe on the
archaeological site, ... Polish military officials said they were
unaware of the investigation or any damage and that great care had been
taken to secure and protect the ruins. There was 'superficial' work
done two months ago to expand a helicopter landing zone to accommodate
U.S. troops housed at the site, Polish army spokesman Lt. Col. Robert
Strzelecki said. 'The superficial work was done under archaeological
supervision and there was no deep digging involved,' ..." "The
investigating team included two Polish archaeologists and an Iraqi from
the state board of antiquities, along with the coalition's senior
adviser for culture and a consultant, the spokeswoman said. Babylon's
main sites - the Ishtar Gate, the ruins of Babylon and the
Nebuchadnezzar Palace - are in a separate area on the camp's perimeter,
run by Iraqi officials as an archaeological park open to paying
visitors, said Maj. Slawomir Walenczykowski of the Polish-led
multinational division. 'We are totally taken by surprise by the
report. We are not aware of any investigation or any visit by
archaeological experts,' Walenczykowski said." "[Strzelecki] said the
base appears to be the only one with special archaeological advisers to
the commanding general."
[too little is known yet to go into
details
but I'd like to remark that no matter what exactly happened it was
obviously serious enough to draw the attention of the top US occupation
leadership and make them acknowledge it publicly; it's the least they
could do considering all the promises made in the aftermath of the
looting of the National Museum in Baghdad last year: after all, this
site has been under their control from the beginning; also, when the
sorry state of protection against looting of the archaeological sites
in Iraq was brought up again and again, the Coalition military always
pointed at Babylon as being safe because it was within their military
base: quite ironic, isn't it? furthermore, this again puts the
spotlight on the dubious role of the anonymous Polish archaeologists in
Babylon (but see now
Krzemińska
mid-April]
- "United
Nations Security Council resolution 1546," in New Zealand Herald (New Zealand),
June 9, 2004: "Stressing the need for all parties to respect and
protect Iraq's archaeological, historical, cultural, and religious
heritage, ..."
- C. Hartman, "Fires
Destroy Archives of Saddam Rule," in The Guardian (UK), June 8, 2004:
"Fires at the Iraq National Library set as U.S. forces took over
Baghdad did not destroy large numbers of rare books and ancient
manuscripts as initially feared, U.S. investigators say. Instead, the
fires apparently were aimed at destroying sensitive records about
Saddam Hussein's government, said Mary-Jane Deeb, a specialist on the
Arab world at the Library of Congress. ... (the records) were brought
to the library in the late 1980s and were put in the charge of almost
90 people who were not librarians,' ..." "She said the records were
burned with the use of some intensely flammable material like
phosphorous - not the sort of thing a causal looter might use - and the
destruction was thorough. 'We were up to our knees in ashes,' Deeb
said. Archives from earlier periods lay untouched in a nearby room,
stored in rice sacks." "Some books also were scattered about the floor,
possibly to give the impression that part of the collection had been
looted, ..." "Two months before the fires, about 40,000 rare books and
documents were sent for safekeeping to the building of the Iraqi
National Board of Tourism. ... they were found to be under a foot of
water there - something had gone wrong with the water mains. Deeb
reported that workers were hired to get them out, but that when she saw
them two months later that they were still wet and damaged by mold. ...
Deeb said that the damaged materials have since been placed in freezers
to stop further molding, in the cellar of a building which had been the
Senior Officers Club under Saddam. She had reported that the damaged
library building was no longer suitable and the Coalition Provisional
Authority (CPA) designated the club as the collection's new home. But
last week the Iraqi ministry of Justice put in a claim to get the
attractive building for itself." [all this is mostly if not solely
based on Deeb, Albin and Haley
December 16, 2003]
- "Interpol
and the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property
stolen in Iraq," in Interpol,
online, [June 8, 2004]: "The Interpol General Secretariat in
co-operation with the Jordanian Customs Department organized in Amman
two meetings ... On 30 and 31 May 2004 the 2nd Meeting of the Interpol
Tracking Task Force to Fight the Illicit Trafficking in Cultural
Property Stolen in Iraq (ITTF) took place; On 1 and 2 June 2004, the
Regional Meeting to Fight the Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property
was held enabling a wider participation of the countries of the region,
UNESCO and ICOM." "The recommendations adopted during both meetings
will be made available on this web site as soon as possible."
Photo: "The experts group of the ITTF visiting the secured premises
where are kept the Iraqi cultural property items seized by the
Jordanian customs administration."
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- "Global
Heritage Fund, World Bank Host Congress Dedicated To Saving Endangered
Iraq Heritage Sites," in Yahoo!
Finance, online, June 8, 2004: "... will partner with Iraq's
Minister of Culture and State Board of Antiquities to conduct a 10-day
workshop for leading Iraqi site directors June 15-22 in Petra,
Jordan. The mission of the Iraq Heritage Congress is to develop
world-class conservation plans for preserving the priceless historical
and cultural sites in Iraq, according to Jeff Morgan, Executive
Director of the GHF and Christiaan Poortman, World Bank Vice President
for Middle East and North Africa. While security remains a primary
concern, this is a critical time for Iraqi officials and regional and
international organizations to begin to set priorities and create the
basis for conservation funding ..." "... create new opportunities for
developing countries like Iraq to become financially stable through
sustainable tourism, ... 'At current rates of destruction, there is at
least one world heritage-class site lost each year in the Middle East,
and we can't afford to lose one more.' Thirty leading Iraqi site
directors and archaeological conservators will participate in a program
of site management and planning workshops led by international experts
in funding, technology and site management and planning. Their goal
will be to improve their professional skills and to enhance their
ability to acquire funding and expertise from international donor
agencies." "The Jordanian Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Oriental
Institute at University of Chicago, Brown University, the American
Center for Oriental Research (ACOR) and the Petra National Trust also
are participating partners in the Iraq Heritage Congress."
- "Iraq
Museum Director: Neighboring Countries Seized 1,235 Stolen Artefacts,"
in DARPA TIDES Iraq Reconstruction
Report, online, 215 (June 3, 2004): "Dr. George told Jordan News
Agency,
on the sidelines of the 'Regional Meeting to Fight Illicit Trafficking
in Cultural Property Stolen In Iraq' currently being held in Amman,
that Jordan has more than 1,000 pieces of antiquities, Syrian 200
pieces, and Kuwait 35 pieces. He affirmed that Saudi Arabia had seized
some artefacts, the number of which it will reveal during today's
meeting."
- "Iraq:
scoperto traffico reperti," in ANSI
(Italy), online, June 3, 2004: the carabinieri uncovered an Iraqi
antiquities trafficking operation; they arrested a Jordanian and also
charged an Italian with receiving stolen goods; among the artifacts was
a 3,000 BC economic cuneiform tablet, said general Zottin; this tablet
and 4 figurines were confiscated at the home of this professional in
the
Abruzzi region of Italy; he bought them online
- "Interpol
calls for cyber-tracking of stolen Iraqi antiquities," in Yahoo! News, online, June 2, 2004:
"'We have recognised the trend for using the Internet for the sale of
cultural property from Iraq ...,' [senior Interpol official] Karl Heinz
Kind told reporters [in Amman] at the end of a two-day meeting on Iraqi
treasures missing since the end of last year's war." "'The use of the
Internet and investigating the Internet is more developed in the United
States and Europe but we had some seizures in Dubai,' he said." [1st
mention of the UAE in recovering Iraqi artifacts as far as I remember];
"... archeological sites all over the country have been looted and
continue to be looted'." "On Tuesday [National Museum director Donny
George] told AFP that plans were underway to set up a 1,300-strong
'antiquities police' to monitor those sites. Thousands of objects were
looted from the Iraq Museum at the end of the US-led war in April 2003
and 15,000 antiquities are still missing. Hundreds have surfaced across
the globe and were seized in Iraqi neighbouring countries such as
Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but also as far as Britain,
Italy and the United States."
Photo: "Wed Jun 2, 2:51 PM ET - Picture taken in
March 2004 shows a general view shows empty glass cabinets and a
damaged statue still on the ground since the looting at a exhibition
room of Iraq's national museum in Baghdad. A senior Interpol official
urged members countries to monitor the Internet for sales of stolen
Iraqi antiquities, saying cyber trafficking in illicit objects is on
the rise. (AFP/File/Cris Bouroncle)"
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- "Over
1,000 stolen Iraqi artefacts seized by neighbours," in NewKerala.com (India), online, June
2, 2004: "Iraq's neighbouring countries have seized 1,235 pieces of
antiquities stolen from the country after US occupation, said Iraqi
Museum General Director Donny George." "George said Jordan has more
than 1,000 pieces of antiquities, Syria holds 200 and Kuwait 35
objects. Saudi Arabia has also seized some pieces of antiquities the
number of which would be known later, he said. The number of items
looted from the Baghdad Museum was estimated at 15,000, George said,
noting that the museum used to have more than half a million pieces of
antiquities."
- D.B. Roddy, "Bill seeks to
protect Mideast antiquities," in The
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania), June 2, 2004: "U.S. Rep.
Phil English, R-Erie, said yesterday he plans to introduce legislation
that would impose an emergency five-year ban on the importation of
'cultural property' from Afghanistan. The legislation includes a list
of items missing from various museums throughout Afghanistan as well as
archaeological sites that have been looted or destroyed. The
legislation mirrors another law covering looted Iraqi antiquities. That
bill has been stalled in Congress." "Specific legislation is necessary
for Afghanistan because it is not a signatory to the 1970 United
Nations convention on looted antiquities. Because of this, its
government has no legal recourse to seek the return of cultural
artifacts illegally taken from its sites."
- "Regional
Meeting to Fight the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property Stolen
from Iraq. Amman, Jordan, 1st & 2nd June 2004. Minutes," in Interpol, online, no date: "Dr
Donny George, ... provided a detailed report supported by various
illustrations on the theft and damage committed in the Iraq Museum in
April 2003. Although museum staff were still counting the items, due to
the chaotic situation following the looting and the partial loss of
inventories, it could be assumed that a total of about 15,000 items had
been stolen. About 4,000 items had meanwhile been returned as a result
of voluntary returns, random checks and targeted, often joint,
operations conducted by the Iraqi police, the Coalition Provisional
Authorities and the customs services. The Iraq Museum was preparing a
web site containing all available information of the stolen items. ...
He referred to various seizures of Iraqi cultural property abroad, and
said that about 1,000 items had been seized in the United States, 1,054
in Jordan, about 200 in Syria, 35 in Kuwait, and a number in Saudi
Arabia. Most of the seized items did not originate from the Iraq
Museum, but from recent illegal excavations." [this is important
because there is an unfortunate tendency in press reports to connect
all recovered artifacts with the National Museum; also, this confirms
that esp. when no clear indication is given as to the origin of
recovered pieces we should assume that they were looted from
archaeological sites; recoveries of items from provincial museums have
not been mentioned but that seems normal as they had sent most of their
artifacts to Bagdad before the war where they, as far as I have been
able to ascertain, remained safe from looting]; "He expressed his
regret that no information on seizures had so far been provided by
Turkey or Iran. ... He emphasized that most of the archaeological sites
in Iraq were currently without any protection and therefore continued
to be looted. The Italian Carabinieri had been offering protection in
the Nasiriyah region, but since their recent withdrawal for lack of
security, the sites in that region were also targets of the looters.";
"With considerable support from the N[ational] C[entral] B[ureau]s in
Rome and Washington, more than 2,100 items stolen in Iraq had been
recorded in the A[utomated] S[earch] F[acility] stolen works of art
database." [see my note in my
annotations to
Friedman February 11, 2004]; "... the Jordanian Department of
Antiquities ... They had appointed liaison officers to assist at the
borders with the assessment of seized objects. The Department of
Antiquities also kept the seized items in secure conditions, set up
computerized inventories and shared the information with the Iraq
Museum and UNESCO. The department had established a database including
about 11,000 archaeological sites in Jordan, and was preparing a
similar database for Iraq." [I hope they are coordinating with the
other initiatives regarding archaeological-site databases...]; "...
Jordanian authorities faced several waves of seizures in April, July
and November 2003, and again in April 2004, alternating with calmer
periods ..." " A Delegate from the Jordanian Customs Department ...
confirmed the seizures of more than 1,000 Iraqi antiquities, most of
them at the Iraqi and Syrian borders." [interesting: a substantial
number, so it seems, are confiscated on the Syrian-Jordanian border!];
"A Saudi Arabian Delegate reported two seizures of Iraqi artefacts in
his country. On one occasion, the items were seized in the possession
of an Iraqi national trying to sell them inside the country, and the
second seizure was carried out at the Jordanian border."
"[A United Kingdom Delegate] presented
three case studies of seizures of Iraqi antiquities made in London in
2003: a recent case (seizure of over
650
glassware items in Newark, USA, involving the arrest of a dealer in
London and the seizure of his assets) [see
below],
an inter-war case (seizure of a book stolen from the Mosul library in
1995 along with 465 other books, and the arrest of a Syrian suspect in
London), and a case prior to 1990 (recovery of an Assyrian relief last
seen in Iraq in 1976 from an Iranian national who had received it from
a Jordanian citizen already known for handling stolen cultural goods).
The cases showed the attraction of the London art market, but also the
continuity and international links in the illicit traffic." "[An
Italian delegate] described the linked seizures made in August 2003 in
Sardinia and southern Italy of 86 cuneiform tablets and five other
archaeological items from a Lebanese national who had received them
from an Iranian dealer residing in London, and who had already come to
notice for similar offences. The items originated from illegal digs in
Iraq." "Dr Donny George ... Some days prior to the present conference,
the Nasiriyah Museum had been attacked and the library completely
burnt. The main suspects had previously assisted the Italian forces in
safeguarding the sites and the museum, and then used their knowledge to
perpetrate those criminal acts." "[The French Delegate] denied the
reports repeatedly published in the media of the seizure in France of
some 500 Iraqi antiquities." [the Iraqi Minister of Culture el-Jaza'iri
himself has been spreading this rumor, e.g.,
H.Z. March 20, 2004]; "The US
Homeland Security Service Delegate ... referred to the seizure in
Newark in May 2003 of a
Fedex shipment of more
than 600 Iraqi artefacts, most of them being glassware items
accompanied by false expert reports indicating that they were of
British origin. Investigations, which were still ongoing, had made it
possible to identify the shipper in the United Kingdom and the receiver
in the USA." [see also
above];
"[The US Homeland Security delegate] stressed that ... only very few
seizures had been made from soldiers, with almost all the cases
involving military items. He stressed the increasing number of sales of
Iraqi antiquities on the Internet and described the particular efforts
of a specific cybercrime unit to follow up suspicious offers. They
include close co-operation with online auction houses in order to
quickly obtain contact information and take advantage of specific
investigation methods, including the use of an undercover service and
acting as a potential buyer." "The UNESCO Representative explained the
main principles of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, which had been adopted
by 103 States. She said that the provisions of the Convention had to be
included in national legislation in order to become effective. ... She
also presented the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention, which had been adopted by
22 States and provided additional assistance, in particular for
illegally excavated antiquities considered as stolen under the terms of
the Convention. She stressed the need for adequate inventories and
reported on UNESCO's support for their development in Iraqi museums. In
this context, she promoted the use of the Object ID, an internationally
recognized description standard for works of art. ... UNESCO had
recently created the International Co-ordination Committee for the
Safeguarding of the Iraqi Cultural Heritage, including scientific
experts and representatives from professional institutions and
international organizations (including ICOM and Interpol) to deal with
the rehabilitation of buildings, the provision of equipment and
training."
"As a result of co-operation between
the W[orld] C[ustoms]
O[rganization] and UNESCO, and with Interpol's assistance, a model
export certificate was produced for cultural property which would
harmonize the diversity of existing export certificates worldwide and
facilitate customs controls and make it possible to detect false
documents. The draft had meanwhile been endorsed by the Permanent
Technical Committee of the WCO and the Executive Board of UNESCO, and
the members of both Organizations would be requested to promote the use
of the certificate. ... Each cultural object leaving Iraq should be
accompanied by a certificate attesting that the exportation was legal.
In the absence of the certificate, the exportation is to be considered
as illicit." "[Karl-Heinz Kind, Interpol General Secretariat] ... said
that as a result of previous meetings (Interpol Tracking Task Force and
Interpol Experts Group), a joint project had been set up with UNESCO to
compile a list of experts (archaeologists), institutions and fact
witnesses (site guards) [good idea!] to make it easier for law
enforcement agencies to find suitable contacts." "Dr Donny George said
that care should be taken when selecting experts because experience had
shown that some experts had passed on their information to thieves and
looters. He said that experts could be officially appointed by the
Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then be authorized to testify in
court." "Mr Jouanny, General Secretariat, presented an initial analysis
based on fewer than 20 cases so far received. He said that, even with a
small number of cases, it was already possible to identify some common
trends: Jordan's position as a typical transit country, the world's
most important art markets as targeted destinations, the increasing use
of Internet sales, and the involvement of suspects in different cases
in different countries." "Mr Kind, General Secretariat, highlighted the
need for the timely sharing of accurate, relevant information
concerning investigations and seizures of Iraqi cultural property for
crime analysis purposes. Frequently, information from the media about
seizures could not be officially confirmed and no details were
communicated about the routes used, borders crossed, countries
transited, means of smuggling used, offenders involved, and their
possible links to criminal networks. To remedy to that problem, the
Interpol Tracking Task Force had produced a report form containing the
requested details. The form had been distributed to its member
countries." [I had hoped that at least inside organizations like
Interpol they knew more than what I could find; this definitely needs
urgent attention]; "Dr Donny George reported on three 3-days training
courses organized in the Iraq Museum for customs officers from Baghdad
and the airport. The courses included the legal instruments and the
typology of Iraqi antiquities. It was intended to extend the courses to
other customs officers in the country."
- "15,000
artifacts still missing from Iraq Museum: director," in Khaleej Times (United Arab
Emirates), June 1, 2004: "The thousands of missing items include 'a
half-sized headless statue of Sumerian king Entemena made of diorite as
well as a very important ivory and gold plaque known as the Lioness and
the Nubian which is inlaid with precious stones,' he said."
- J. Halaby, "Jordan
Urges End to Flow of Iraq Treasures," in The Guardian (UK), June 1, 2004:
"Jordan, one of Iraq's six neighbors, has confiscated hundreds of Iraqi
artifacts, carpets, paintings and books that have been stolen from
Iraq's museums and archaeological sites. [At the Amman symposium
co-organized with Interpol,] Mahmoud Qteishat, director-general of the
Jordanian Customs Department, said the looting of Iraqi artifacts was
the 'greatest crime of the century' and he called for closer
cooperation among countries near Iraq to catch the thieves and
smugglers." "Donny George, director of the Iraqi National Museum,
accused two of Iraq's neighbors, Turkey and Iran, of 'not assisting'
efforts to recover the stolen Iraqi treasures. Of Iraq's six neighbors,
Turkey and Iran were the only ones who did not send representatives
..." "Qteishat, the customs director, urged Interpol, the United
Nations and antiquities experts to compile a database to help count,
trace and return looted artifacts to their owners." [decided upon a
year ago, this unfortunately highlights the glacial speed at which it
is (not) happening...]; "He also called for countries bordering Iraq to
implement 'random inspection' of passengers and goods coming out of
Iraq and to use 'modern techniques' to monitor border traffic. The
chief of Interpol, Willy Deridder, told the symposium that
archaeological sites in Iraq continue to be looted, particularly those
in the south of the country. The 4,000-year-old ziggurat of Ur is in
southern Iraq." [does Halaby imply that there are reports of fresh
looting at Ur? it's not clear]; "The symposium is being attended by
representatives of Western police forces, such as the FBI and Britain's
Scotland Yard, and the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, the International Council for Museums, and customs
officials from Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Yemen."
- K. Watenpaugh, "'Opening
the Doors' One Year Later: Reflections on the Iraq War and the Middle
East Studies Community," in Middle
East Studies Association Bulletin, 38, 1 (June 2004): "Many of
us sensed that while there had been a tremendous international outcry
for the archaeological museums and the ancient past of Mesopotamia –
things that fit more neatly into the trajectory of the heritage of 'our
Western Civilization,' a similar outcry for that past most present in
the lives of contemporary Iraqis, the heritage of the Islamic, Ottoman,
Arab – colonial and post-colonial periods was absent altogether.
Moreover, this absence extended to any discussions of the humanities,
history, and architecture. As if to confirm our suspicions that the
part of Iraq’s past most worthy of protection and promotion would be
the most ancient and distant from a Muslim and Arab present, a
significant portion of the first of five USAID grants totaling $20.5
million for joint programs between American Universities and colleges
and Iraqi higher education was for the training of archaeologists and
the teaching of Assyrian. This is not a criticism of the international
archaelogical community – who have indeed risen to the task and whose
efforts on behalf of Iraq’s ancient past are tremendous – rather it
highlights how difficult a task it is to generate international
sympathy or support for Islamic Art or more contemporary aspects of
Muslim and Arab cultural heritage."
[I have actually on occasion pondered my web site's de facto limitation
to pre-Islamic Iraq; the main reason however is that my personal
expertise is limited the same way and that the academic fields split
out that way too; once in a while, I have included a few articles about
Islamic-period artifacts or monuments and I have paid some attention to
the issues surrounding the National Library and the manuscripts; we
Ancient Near Eastern archaeologists are very adept at using the "Cradle
of Civilization" image to our benefit but we are lucky enough to have
something to build upon; unfortunately, the fact that the Islamic world
not only served as a conduit for Greek/Hellenistic and older knowledge
to the West but, even more so, was a tremendous center of learning in
mathematics, architecture, medicine, etc. in its own right is little
known to most Westerners and can therefore not so easily be called upon
to garner support for Islamic-period cultural reconstruction efforts in
Iraq]; "What was also clear to us is that Iraq’s structures of
teaching, learning and research not only suffered substantially after
the war, but continue to face the cumulative effects of two decades of
mismanagement, Baathist cultural politics, and regime paranoia. This
has accelerated since the early 1990s when the state took extreme
austerity measures as a response to UN sanctions and the fall in oil
revenues. As a consequence, many of these institutions are frozen in
terms of development somewhere in the late 1980s. For these, the
looting was just a last humiliating act in a longer process of erosion
that transformed what was perhaps the most elaborate and well-developed
higher educational and research system in the Arab world into a pale
shadow of its former self."