The Iraq War & Archaeology Archive 44

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.

V. Kerrigan, "Iraq Cultural Sites Under Threat," in The Deep End (Radio National; Australia), with online audio (at about 44 minutes into this segment), January 31, 2005: "So while Iraq might be on the path to democracy, we ask what is the future of its cultural heritage? We speak to Leah McKenzie, former member of the government's Cultural Heritage Reference Group on Iraq.": recap of the damage at Babylon; snipers nest on Samarra's spiral minaret; Iraqi antiquities department people having trouble enough in their day-to-day lives, impossible to do much in the field; ongoing plundering of sites [one more thing I'd like to bring up here: notwithstanding their ill-advised use of the famous minaret as a sniper position presently we can at least be grateful for the US military's Samarra offensive in October 2004 having been swift enough to secure all of the Mosque of el-Mutawakkil complex without causing any major damage due to prolonged fighting; what has otherwise happened in and around the immensely valuable complex and associated ruins nearby since the start of the war in 2003 is another matter which is anything but clear; with Babylon in mind, it may be best that an independent assessment is made by international experts on Islamic archaeology and heritage]
D.K. Dietsch, "Robbing the cradle of civilization," in The Washington Times, January 29, 2005: "As Iraqis prepare to vote to establish their political future, international efforts are under way to protect their cultural past. But with the illicit plundering of Iraq's incomparable legacy of archaeological ruins growing rapidly in scope and sophistication, will international preservation efforts prove too little too late? ... The [National M]useum, still closed to visitors, has been fortified by security fences, storage vaults and other safeguards to protect its collections. Far less secure are thousands of archaeological sites throughout Iraq. Many excavations have remained unprotected since the war began, allowing vandals [better word: looters!] to ransack them for statuary, clay tablets, jewelry and other precious antiquities. 'So many sites have already been destroyed,' says McGuire Gibson, professor of archaeology at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute. 'Illegal digging has been going on now for 22 months, virtually unhindered.'" "'The damage," [Gibson] explains, 'consists of huge holes, some of them very deep — 20 meters (22 yards) or so at some sites — with tunnels running off in all directions from the sides of the pits.' Though some ancient grounds in southern Iraq were looted during Saddam's regime, '75 to 90 percent of the looting at the sites has happened since 2003 when the war started,' [Prof. John M.] Russell says." "The hardest-hit ruins, according to scholars, are in southern Iraq. ... 'The looting is spreading,' [Gibson] warns. 'It is only a matter of time before it goes farther and farther north.'" "Mr. Russell says 1,750 guards have been hired recently to augment the Iraqi protective force. Last year, guards received 20 pickup trucks, funded by the Packard Humanities Institute and the State Department, to patrol the sites. The U.N. Development Group has allocated $5.5 million for a three-year cultural program for Iraq, including 45 vehicles and equipment to strengthen security at archaeological digs. 'This isn't enough,' Mr. Russell says. 'They still need about 100 more trucks equipped with radios and adequate weapons.'" "According to Tim Whalen, director of the Getty Conservation Institute, surveying of Iraqi sites will begin later this year, while training continues over the next four years. While well-intentioned, this preservation effort may come too late to save Iraq's endangered heritage. It may serve only to record the damage already done rather than prevent further vandalism at archaeological sites."
D. Newbart, "Museum's basement reveals hidden treasures," in Chicago Sun-Times, January 28, 2005: "Most of the artifacts were uncovered during Oriental Institute-sponsored excavations in the 1920s and 1930s. Many have been studied and displayed previously. But two years ago, U. of C[hicago] associate professor Aslihan Yener enlisted students to search through [the] some of the finds that had never been analyzed. They found fragments of a basalt statue that had been so damaged, both through wear and tear and warfare, that it might have originally looked like stones of little significance. But scholars now believe it's a sculpture of a king who ruled in the Amuk Valley in what is now Turkey. Yener said it could be King Taita of Wadasatini, a Neo-Hittite ruler who likely reigned at some point between 1000 and 750 B.C., but scholars can't say for sure." [remember the National Museum in Baghdad and how hard it was/is to get an exact estimate of how many artifacts were stolen in 2003? this example from the US shows how it is all too common that not all the holdings of an archaeological museum are as well inventorized and studied as they should be, even many, many years after some peices have entered the collection]; "Other artifacts on display include stone-carved reliefs from an outdoor passage in King Sargon II's palace in Assyria. He ruled from 721 to 705 B.C. ... While the items had been shown before, visitors can now see carved cuneiform inscriptions on the back of the reliefs. Those inscriptions, which [Geoff] Emberling [museum director] said were meant for the gods, wouldn't have been seen either when they were originally in Sargon's palace or when they were displayed against a wall previously at the institute. In them, Sargon boasts of his 'superior wisdom and shrewd intellect.' 'When I read this I think of Saddam,' ..."
A. Barnard, "Atop spiral minaret, Army sniper teams take aim," in The Boston Globe, January 28, 2005: "The Bradt Travel Guide to Iraq lists it among a tiny handful of Saddam Hussein-era tourist sites, describing it as 'a synthesis of Babylonian ziggurat and Islamic architecture.' Now, it is a US Army sniper's nest. Samarra's main landmark, a spiral minaret that looks like a slanted wedding cake, was built when the city was the capital of the Abbasid empire, the seat of power for the whole Islamic world. More than 1,100 years later, Samarra is a dusty provincial town caught between insurgents and the US troops and Iraqi security forces they are fighting. The 172-foot minaret has been used by all of those groups to wage war. Guerrillas used it to watch where their mortars fell, the better to aim them at US bases. Then, the Army's First Infantry Division pushed into the city in October. The perch is now occupied by American snipers on 24-hour shifts." "Captain William Rockefeller said he sees no contradiction with US insistence that it is wrong for insurgents to use mosques in battle, or US vows to preserve Iraqi archeological sites." "No one from Samarra has complained, Rockefeller points out. But there could be a dark reason for their indifference. Samarra is an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim city. The caliphs who built the minaret, and the imams who once sounded the call to prayer at the Great Mosque beneath it, were Shi'ites." [incorrect: the builder, el-Mutawakkil, was an Abbasid caliph who was definitely Sunni; see Northedge February 2, 2005]; "[Specialist Sean] Thomas admitted he did not know much about the history, despite the historical plaque at its foot. He does not get to read it when the shift changes at 10 p.m., he said. 'It's always dark.'" [see also Northedge January 25, 2005]

In an e-mail dated January 28, 2005, Dr. John M. Russell kindly sent me a high-quality version of his photo which was just published by The Art Newspaper (Bailey January 25)

Photo: [Bailey January 25, 2005 caption:] "An aerial view of Babylon showing the reconstructed Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, the helipad and trailers for military accomodation" [looking east; helipad upper left between the lake and the Ninmah Temple just north of the palace]

"Babylon or bust. London's Assyrians. Lessons in lobbying from a small but ancient émigré group," in The Economist (UK), January 27, 2005: "George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, ... launched a campaign called 'Save the Assyrians' in a Westminster committee room. The aim of the campaign is to put pressure on the British government to make sure that Iraq's Assyrians are protected when the country's new constitution is drawn up." "Assyrians in Britain have, until now, chiefly been noted for their ability to understand Mel Gibson's film 'The Passion of the Christ' without the help of subtitles." "... many either fought, or have family members who fought, alongside the British in the second world war (the Assyrian Levies even had their own parachute squadron)." "Old alliances aside, there are other reasons why the Brits ought to intervene on behalf of the Assyrians. After all, they have them to thank for perhaps the most beautiful objects in the British Museum, the 2,600-year-old bas-reliefs of lion hunts from King Ashurbanipal's palace. The Assyrians reckon the rent on them is now due."
B. Thompson, "US occupation damages ancient sites at Babylon. Imperialism and cultural vandalism in Iraq," in World Socialist Web Site, online, January 26, 2005: "Writing in the Guardian January 17, Dr Mike Heyworth, director of the Council for British Archaeology, said: 'The extensive cultural vandalism of archaeological sites in Iraq by US-led forces is deeply depressing, but it comes as no surprise. ... Prof. Geoffrey Wainwright, chairman of Wessex Archaeology, writing in the same issue, said: 'We should be angry but not surprised at the destruction of Babylon. Despite the requirements of The Hague convention, aggressors throughout history have targeted the cultural treasures of occupied territories in order to undermine their opponents’ national esteem and sense of cultural identity." [I see only evidence so far for carelessness and ignorance rather than intentional, ideological destruction]; "The irreparable damage done to the ancient sites of Babylon is a criminal act whose historical precedent is to be found in the Nazis’ looting of art treasures and destruction of famous monuments throughout Europe during World War II. The decision to base a military depot in one of the most important archaeological sites in the world can only have been issued from a deeply reactionary and reckless power that is utterly hostile to the cultural achievements of mankind." [Thompson takes matters too far here, esp. with the unwarranted Nazi comparison]; "Despite attempts to pass off the vandalism of the sites as the folly of individual troops, this level of cultural and social philistinism has definite political roots. It is the logical by-product of a predatory war and occupation launched by subterfuge, which had as its main goal the seizure of Iraq’s oil resources. In the process, the Iraqi people have been subjugated to military rule and the country’s historical and artistic heritage looted or destroyed—with the complicity or tacit approval of the US military. In a cruel historical irony that will not be missed by those concerned with the fate of ancient Babylon, the Bush administration, a criminal political elite that purports to be waging war in defence of the values of 'civilisation,' is destroying important remnants of the origins of Western civilisation itself." [the recurring lapses in attention and care given by the Coalition to the Iraqi cultural heritage is indeed troublesome, e.g., the National Museum, Babylon, sites being plundered, minaret in Samarra, etc.]
R. McCarthy, "Still in the dark over where to vote - or for whom. With four days to go, the security crisis imposes an unusually secret ballot," in The Guardian (UK), January 26, 2005: "Some of the parties are using photographs on their posters of people who are not running. ... Another shows the face of Shaba'ad, one of the Sumerian queens of the ancient city of Ur." [Shubad, from the Royal Graves of Ur, Early Sumerian]

D.N. Unrath, "Im Angesicht der Wahlen: Situation der Kulturgüter im Irak," in Die Universität (Austria), online, January 26, 2005: mistakingly states that US and Polish soldiers inflicted damage to the archaeological site of Babylon in January 2005: wrong, it was brought to the media's attention at that time (again), the actual events took place before; interview with Friedrich Schipper (Institut für Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft und Biblische Archäologie, Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät, and Institut für Orientalistik, Universität Wien); the university is assisting in rebuilding the library of the archaeology department of Baghdad University

All photos: "Fotos: Rafal Kolinski/Universität Wien"

Photo 1: "Zerstörte Stadtmauer nördlich des Marduk-Tors" [destroyed city wall to the north of the Marduk Gate]

Photo 2: "Zerstörte Lehmziegelmauer durch Aushebung von Schützengräben." [mud-brick wall destroyed by digging of defensive trenches]

Photo 3: "Beschädigtes Detail des Ischtar-Tors." [damaged detail of the Ishtar Gate]

M. Bailey, "Iraq: US base has caused 'shocking' damage to Babylon. The American contractor that built the infrastructure for a base adjacent to the ancient site is responsible for much of the destruction, says an independent report," in The Art Newspaper (UK), [January 25, 2005]: gives the background and an overview of the Curtis January 15 report; "'We knew by last summer that there had been extensive damage, but as an archaeologist, it is still shocking when you are actually confronted by it,' Dr Curtis told The Art Newspaper. Last June a spokesman for the US forces admitted: 'We did have some construction activities in the vicinity of Babylon. The archaeologists determined that that might be too close to the actual location, so as prudence would dictate, we halted all construction activities.' Critics believe that too little action was taken, too late."

Photos: [captions included; for a much better version of photo 1, see Russell January 28, 2005]

A. Northedge, "US Military and the Malwiya, Samarra," in Iraqcrisis, online, January 25, 2005: "... the Malwiya at Samarra, the world-famous spiral minaret of the Mosque of al-Mutawakkil, built in 849-852, ... While the minaret is robust, the very probable future increase in fire-power opposing the United States military may well seriously damage the monument, if the U.S. position is not evacuated. Nearly all the masonry is of the original 9th-century construction. The occupation of a position on the minaret is not necessary for military needs, and could easily be avoided. The use of a world-famous monument for military purposes is unacceptable, ..." [it could be argued too that it is illegal; anyway, the US may not be a signatory to the 1954 The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, it still prides itself on following its general guidelines (e.g., Jones November 17, 2004); well, for example, I quote from article 4: "... refraining from any use of the property and its immediate surroundings ... for purposes which are likely to expose it to destruction or damage in the event of armed con[fl]ict; ..."; this monument means so much to Iraqis, it is featured on the 250 dinar banknote, see Atkinson and Symes October 2003, photo 5; furthermore, Samarra is one of the 8 sites proposed for World Heritage status, see Iraq Press May 29, 2004; see also White December 23, 2004 and January 2, 2005, Villelabeitia January 24, 2005, Barnard January 25, Palumbo February 1 , Quénivet February 20 and Harris February 25, 2005]; he also mentions the Samarra Archaeological Survey project
[I. Villelabeitia], "Iraq, Ancient Iraqi minaret is U.S. army snipers' nest," in KeralaNext.com (India), January 24, 2005: "Crouched behind sandbags, the soldiers say guerrillas bent on sabotaging the Jan. 30 elections frequently shoot at them with small-arms fire, mortars and rockets, sometimes hitting the 52-metre-tall minaret, ..." "They were posted on top of the distinctive spiral minaret -- the highest vantage point in this violent Sunni Muslim city -- after U.S. and Iraqi forces overran Samarra in October and wrested it from the control of insurgents. Before that, the U.S. army says, the insurgents used the minaret, part of a sprawling 9th century mosque, to shoot at U.S. troops and to orchestrate mortar attacks against U.S. bases outside town." "A hole the size of a watermelon was left in the minaret when it was hit last month by an insurgent's mortar, the U.S. army says. The external staircase which spirals round the brick building is littered with sniper shells. Capt. William Rockefeller, in charge of the nine-man sniper team, said he has not received any complaints about using the minaret as a snipers' nest." [see White January 2, 2005 and Northedge January 25, 2005]
"Iraqi Deputy President Visits Shanghai Museum," in China Internet Information Center (China), January 24, 2005: "Visiting Deputy President of the Iraqi Interim Government Rowsch Nuri Shaways hoped that Iraq and China will further strengthen their cooperation in cultural exchanges ..." "... expressed the hope that Iraq Museum and Shanghai Museum can create a cooperation mechanism to broaden the fields of cooperation between the two sides."
R. Tighe, "On my mind," in Saipan Tribune (Northern Mariana Islands), January 23, 2005: "The cost of President Bush's undeclared-and now certifiably unwarranted-'war' on Iraq keeps climbing higher and higher. Not just ... not only ... not only the destruction and loss of homes and offices and roads and power plants and communication facilities-of palaces and museums and art works. Now comes word that the ancient city of Babylon, which includes the Hanging Gardens of Babylon-one of the seven wonders of the world-has also been irretrievably damaged as a direct result of the war." "The thoughtless damage-and theft-inflicted upon Iraq's museums during the height of the initial attack were, of themselves, inexcusable. That such irreparable damage of what remained of the area's wealth of world famous ancient sites and structures has been allowed to continue, has not been given proper protection, borders on the criminal. These archaeological sites, and their artifacts do not belong only to Iraq but to the entire world-they represent all the world's heritage. Not that dollars and lives should be considered expendable. But antiquities are irreplaceable."

F.A. Bernstein, "The Safety of Iraqi Objects," in The New York Times, January 23, 2005: "Like actors pushing films and authors reading from their books, museum directors go on tours to promote their renovations. ... It wasn't that different a few weeks ago when Donny George, the director of the Iraq Museum, came to New York to show journalists photos of the museum's recent improvements. At a conference table at the headquarters of the World Monuments Fund, ... about a dozen reporters watched as Mr. George clicked through a presentation of modifications to the museum, ... But there was no architect present, and the changes weren't meant to bring more light to the museum's galleries or to create a dramatic public gathering space. Most involved fortifications: walls, fences, enhanced guard booths, vaults designed to keep art in the building until order is restored to Iraq. ... He said he takes a different route to the museum each day to avoid becoming a target for kidnappers or assassins, adding, 'Every day I say a little prayer.' At most such events, publicists hand out discs with pictures and renderings for publication. But this time, none were forthcoming - for security reasons, photos of the changes to the Iraq Museum (which include false walls to confuse looters) will remain on Mr. George's laptop."

Photo: "January 19, 2005 - Agence France-Presse"

"US, Polish troops did not damage Babylonian site: Iraq minister," in Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates), January 21, 2005: "... Iraqi Deputy Minister of Defence Ziad Cattan [odd spelling?] ... on Friday in Warsaw. 'There was no damage done to archaeological artefacts in Babylon by either Polish or US troops,' PAP news agency quoted him as saying." [surely, he's better informed than the Iraqi Minister of Culture!?] "Polish archaeologists working with the military mission had completed 25 archaeological projects at a cost of about 700,000 dollars, a senior [Polish] military commander said. ... Cattan is currently negotiating arms contracts with Polish suppliers and called on Poland not to reduce it’s contingent of 2,500 troops after Iraq’s January 30 general election." [now this couldn't have anything to do with his bold statement about Babylon, no?][1-22-05: he lived in Poland for 30 years and only returned to Iraq shortly before the war broke out]
R. Campbell-Johnston, "In the footsteps of Genghis Khan came Timur, and then our forces," in The Times (UK), January 20, 2005: "A copy of the Zafarnama, a book proudly recording the conquests of the Mongol warrior Timur (or Tamerlane), shows him taking Baghdad some 600 years ago. ... Timur was characteristically savage. He demanded that each of his soldiers should bring him a head. The waters of the Tigris, one miniature records, ran dark with blood as archers pierced frantic citizens swimming for safety. When the massacre was over, some 90,000 skulls were piled in towers on the desert plains. But the flipside of such destructive ferocity was the creative ambition of a conqueror who aspired not simply to rival, but to surpass his predecessor Genghis Khan. Timur’s artistic patronage produced one of the most splendid epochs of Persian culture. So what are the coalition forces leaving behind? A report presented a few days ago by John Curtis, Keeper of the Department of the Ancient Near East at the British Museum, is shaming. ... Throughout history [Babylon] has lived in legend and imagination, fabled for its luxury, beauty and sensuality as well as some intriguing pagan practices." "'I was never intending to apportion blame,' Dr Curtis told me yesterday. 'Military authorities were probably as careful as they could be. What is lamentable is that it was so unnecessary in the first place.' The military should not have been camping on a site of such historical importance."
J. Langenbach, "Ein Militärlager in Stonehenge?," in Die Presse (Austria), January 19, 2005: in 689 BC, king Sennacherib, after Babylon revolted, had its temples and palaces destroyed and the rubble thrown in the Arakthu canal; those were barbaric times, [in contrast] nowadays one no longer throws away old rubble but instead uses it to fill sandbags to protect a military camp established by the US in April 2003; Sennacherib's actions engendered so much hate that he was assassinated and his successor hurried to rebuild Babylon; since then many conquerers came, some were smart: in 331 BC, Alexander the Great instructed his troops not to enter a single house
"Iraqi Press Headlines, 18 Jan 05," in Iraqi Media Monitoring (Jordan), online, January 19, 2005: "Al-Zaman, <Baghdad edition of London-based independent daily newspaper>: ... Forty cameras installed around site of ancient Babylon to deter looters"
D. Hill, "Iraq: 'Camp Babylon' Scandal Dramatizes Fragility Of Archaeological Treasures," in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Czech Republic), January 19, 2005: "Al-Jaza'iri spoke earlier this week, shortly after Polish-led forces returned the area to Iraqi authorities: 'Basically, turning a site of such a nature into a military base is a grave mistake, and actually it is an offense. At the time that we asked for the withdrawal of the forces as soon as possible, we did not know the scale of the damage.'" "But the city's fame is finally helping archaeologists and scholars make themselves heard over what the British Museum calls the 'Iraq crisis' -- that is, the immense and mounting loss, precipitated by the Iraq war, of artifacts and information about the ancient world." "Sarah Collins, a curator at the British Museum, participated in the London meeting. 'That conference, which happened in April [2003], was mainly the result of the Iraqi Museum's having been looted -- and the massive, you know, press attention was focused on the looting of the museum and not so much on archaeological sites,' she said. 'And we held a conference here to try to discuss what help we and other museums and institutions in the world could be to the situation in Iraq.' The war in Iraq ground on, Collins recalls, and the archaeologists continued to worry and speak out about the cultural losses. But the headlines turned to life-and-death issues in the country." "But John Curtis, the head of the British Museum's Ancient and Near East Department, who wrote the new report, says this is only partly true: 'It's perfectly true that in the early days of the war, a military presence at Babylon did stop looting. But at that stage nobody could predict that the camp would grow to be so big or that it would remain there for so long. At its greatest extent, it housed 2,000 soldiers, and obviously you don't need 2,000 soldiers to look after an archaeological site.' ... British Museum curator Collins says vandals and thieves are marauding archaeological sites across Iraq now. She says they are particularly attracted to places where scientific excavation is advanced. The thieves see signs of digging and know scholars have found items there and that there are probably more to be found."
L. Fine, "U.S. Returns Stolen Mesopotamian Artifacts to Iraq," in Yahoo! News, online, January 18, 2005: "Three 4,000-year-old marble and alabaster seals ... 'At a time when most news broadcast about Iraq is depressing and negative [e.g., Babylon...], it is with great pleasure to mark this important, positive achievement,' Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie told ... The Iraq Museum, housing more than a quarter of a million pieces, ... [typo for "half of a million"?]" [see also Hays January 18]

T. Hays, "U.S. Returns 3 Stolen Artifacts to Iraq," in Yahoo! News, online, January 18, 2005: "Three thimble-size artifacts looted from a Baghdad museum and sold on the black market for $200 to a scholar-turned-smuggler [Joseph Braude] were returned Tuesday to the Iraqi government. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Michael Garcia turned over the Mesopotamian stone seals to Iraq ...'s U.N. Ambassador Samir al-Sumaidaie at a news conference in Manhattan. The relics, ... date to 2340-2180 B.C., ... Nearly 15,000 items were swiped from the Iraqi National Museum after the U.S. invasion began, al-Sumaidaie said. Roughly half of those items have been located, ..." [there we go again, he's confusing things—or is Hays?—, the 15,000 or so is the estimate of still missing artifacts, the originally stolen total is higher still]; "Last year, Braude pleaded guilty to federal charges of smuggling and making false statements and was sentenced to two years probation." [see Newsday November 23, 2004 and also Fine January 18, 2005]

Photo: "Tue Jan 18, 5:12 PM ET - An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shows three recovered Mesopotamian cylindrical seals removed from the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, to reporters during a press conference held in New York, Tuesday Jan. 18, 2005. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)"

K. Aiken, "US forces damage ancient city of Babylon," in The World Today (ABC; Australia), with online audio, January 18, 2005: interview with Dr. John Curtis: "Can you be certain that troops are responsible for all that damage, after all, how can you be certain of the condition of the city of Babylon before they moved in? ... Well, I have been to Babylon many times over the years, and in fact the last time I went there was in June 2003, just after the war, and at that time only one of the figures in the Ishtar gate had been damaged, so damage to the others has occurred since that time and it's quite obvious the sorts of things that I'm talking about have been caused as a result of turning Babylon into a military camp. It's quite clear to the trained archaeological eye that many of the trenches are very recent indeed. ... The city of Babylon is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, I wonder now whether you consider that it still is? ... Oh yes, I do. It's still an enormously important site. Although there has been damage there, which is highly regrettable, there’s no doubt that it still is one of the most important sites in the ancient world."

"Defiling Babylon is cultural brutality," in Gulf News (United Arab Emirates), January 17, 2005: "In the midst of the human suffering plaguing Iraq it is not improper to focus on cultural barbarity. Babylon is not just an Iraqi archaeological site, it is of significant importance to mankind. It is part of our heritage, part of the cradle of civilisation, part of what we were. But aside from the destruction that resulted from these acts of vandalism, there are even deeper concerns about the behaviour of coalition troops. Babylon would have played a major role in the reconstruction of Iraq, it would have been a prime site for visitors denied access over the decades." [it still might]; "This site of historical importance also represents the hope of a better future for Iraq. More than just history has been insulted. Babylon and Iraq will one day recover. The reputation of those who carried out this vandalism will not."
I. S[chelstraete], "Militair kamp beschadigt Babylon," in De Standaard (Belgium), January 17, 2005: interview with Assyriologist Dr. Jan Tavernier (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven): in June 2004, The Guardian already reported that there would be an investigation [indeed, see Krane June 11, 2004] but obviously that didn't speed up the departure of the troops enough so Minister el-Jaza'iri asked for an international investigation
M. Pitts, "Memory failures. The damage done to Babylon has impaired the prospect of understanding a glorious ancient civilisation, writes Mike Pitts," in The Guardian (UK), January 17, 2005: "'By the waters of Babylon', goes the song. There we sat down, and wept. As I read John Curtis's tersely-worded report, the sound of this lament rang in my mind. Archaeologists deal with things usually so broken as to be unrecognisable to the untrained eye, yet for us these documents reverberate with people's lives." "If you choose this site for a military camp, you must know that both that choice and especially how you treat the ancient remains will be read as a political statement by others. An archaeologist, however, will see more in the report than trouble over the symbolism of carelessness. There are obvious references that indicate damage to archaeological remains took place in and around the camp. You do not need to be an expert to understand these, any more than you would need to have been to have realised something dodgy was happening at the time." "Inscribed bricks make good headlines, but, for the archaeologist, the trenches that apparently threw up nothing are just as significant. It is important to realise that much of Babylon's story remains a mystery, and with the ever-growing subtleties of modern science, there is huge promise for future researchers." "We must show Iraq that the world respects its history. International effort must research, reveal and rebuild Babylon's past. This heritage disaster must be turned to triumph."

W. Ibrahim, "Babylon to remain closed until damage known," in Reuters (UK), online, January 17, 2005: "'We want to know the full facts about Babylon's condition,' Culture Minister Mofeed al-Jazaeri told a news conference on Monday. 'Babylon will stay closed until an international team is formed to determine the damage, document it and recommend what should be done to restore the city.'" "[Polish Defence Minister Jerzy] Szmajdzinski told public radio Jedynka local authorities and archaeologists were consulted over all decisions affecting ancient sites at the base. 'Surely mistakes were made at the beginning, but nobody knows what Babylon was like before the Americans took over. Since arriving, we have carried out full documentation of the site,' he said. The Polish Culture Ministry will soon issue a 500-page report on Babylon, he added." [I can't wait till I see this Polish report]

Photo: "US marines walk through the remake of the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar in the ancient town of Babylon, in this April 20, 2003 file photo. Babylon -- home to one of the seven wonders of the world -- will remain closed until experts determine how much damage foreign forces had done to the site, Iraq's culture minister says. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen"

"Polish and US Troops Saved Ancient Babylon - Says Defence Minister," in Polskie Radio (Poland), online, January 17, 2005: "Polish Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski ... said that 'Any report on Babylon should start by saying that the Americans and the Poles saved Babylon for our civilisation, because that is the truth. If it wasn't for the Americans, Babylon would have been looted like all other museums in Iraq ... and we would now be buying back Babylon artifacts on bazaars and markets,' ..."
"A protection force for Iraqi archeological sites starts its work," in Kuwait News Agency (Kuwait), online, January 16, 2005: "Protection forces for the Iraqi archeological sites of the Iraqi cultural Ministry began [sic] its work Sunday, a source in the Ministry said in a press release today. The forces are to organize and control patrols on main roads leading to all archeological sites and appoints [sic] guards to supervise them. The forces have the right to apprehend and [sic] suspects for 12 hours and investigate and [sic] trespassing to these sites, ..."

"Polish army denies causing damage to historic Babylon," in Yahoo! News, online, January 16, 2005: "'Neither Polish soldiers or soldiers in the multinational division under Polish command carried out any work which would have intentionally damaged monuments' in the camp on the site of Babylon, the head of the minister's press service Colonel Piotr Pertek told AFP on Sunday." "'Since the Poles took possession of the camp, Polish archaeologists have been watching over to ensure that the Babylon monuments are not damaged,' he said. 'They are still there.' ... But Polish archaeologist Miroslaw Olbrys told the Polish national news agency PAP that 'some of the accusations in the report are well founded.'" [Olbrys is one of the authors of the Polish report mentioned in Curtis January 15]
"Bye bye Babylon, voici les barbares postmodernes," in de defensa (Belgium), January 16, 2005: the author mentions and quotes from my "commentaires désolés d’un invité de marque, un spécialiste américain des problèmes archéologiques": thanks for the esteem but, sorry, but I'm still Belgian; also, he liked the "American Graffiti" title of my piece in The Guardian but I can't take credit for that as the editor came up with it (common practice with newspapers); the US troops should be called not "American" but better yet "Americanist" [a more ideological, zealous variant]; just like the National Museum looting was allowed to happen, this damage to Babylon, while probably not intentional either, betrays the same subconscious, Freudian attitude (after all, it always seems to go in the same direction); the deconstruction of Iraq continues unabated, deconstruction of the social fabric, of urban life (e.g., Fallujah), of the historical memory, of anything that keeps a culture coherent
M. Scislowska, "Poland Says Forces Did Not Hurt Babylon," in Yahoo! News, online, January 16, 2005: in reaction to McCarthy and Kennedy January 15: "A Polish-led force moved out of Babylon last month in response to a request by Iraq's culture minister and handed the site to Iraqis. 'A military presence, by its nature, must have had a negative influence on the site,' [spokesman for the Polish-led force in Iraq Lt. Col. Artur] Domanski said in a telephone interview from Iraq. 'We have pictures showing that some element is missing, or has been dug out, or moved.' Domanski stopped short of saying the soldiers had caused damage. He said a Polish report documented the situation as of mid-December and did not give the time when 'changes' to the site took place. Domanski refused to assign blame, saying 'we do not point our finger at anyone' in the unpublished Polish report, which has been given to the Iraqis. Iraqi officials were consulted on all work done in the camp and 'any work was immediately stopped if they requested it,' Domanski said. The officer stressed that the Polish-led force, accompanied by three archaeologists, took care to preserve the site and protect it from looters while based there between September 2003 and Dec. 20. Polish troops used no tanks or other tracked vehicles in Babylon, Domanski said." " Polish Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Piotr Pertek insisted in earlier comments to the PAP news agency that no soldier in the multinational force 'performed any tasks that would ruin the monuments, cause devastation or any other harm.'" "Domanski said the force did good things for Babylon, installing a camera monitoring system, cleaning soil contaminated by fuel and equipping Iraqi guards for the site."
J. Cole, "Curfew Measures on Election Day," in Informed Comment, online, January 16, 2005: "In another blow to the US image in Iraq, archeologists have made an initial assessment that the US military damaged the site of ancient Babylon while using it as a military base. The genius that put US and Polish troops on top of such sites should be fired, but won't be. Al-Jazeerah was making hay all day Saturday with reports of the damage to Babylon by the US, and with interviews with Arab archeologists about the site's importance to Iraqi history and the history of civilization."
"Bush’s Mark on History," in Arab News (Saudi Arabia), January 16, 2005: "Yet it seems to be symptomatic of the profound ignorance which has informed Bush’s policy in the Middle East that the US military chose to set up a military depot in the midst of the fragile ruins of ancient Babylon. As a result of this crass decision, immense damage has been caused to the site. A report yesterday from the British Museum seems at first barely credible. Vast amounts of earth containing tens of thousands of archaeological fragments have been bulldozed into piles to fill up sandbags. Defensive trenches have been dug right through remains." "... the decision two years ago by the American top brass, during the still relatively peaceful period of the occupation, to establish a base for over 2000 troops in this highly sensitive and historic location is both inexplicable and outrageous. It speaks of the extreme carelessness, bordering upon contempt, with which President Bush embarked upon the United States’ mission to change Iraq into a country to its liking. ... Tragically we now see the consequences at all levels of this total lack of planning for anything other than the overthrow of Iraq and the supply of PX stores and air-conditioned accommodation for the victorious US forces." "It is said again and again that George Bush in his second and final presidential term wants to leave his mark on history. He already has — in the shattered remains of the precious archaeology of Babylon the Great which has fallen to his ignorant and vandal armies."

This site is edited by Belgian archaeologist Francis Deblauwe, Ph.D., living in Streamwood, Illinois (USA), who is affiliated with Archaeos, Inc., and a research associate of the University of Vienna (Austria).