From J.N. Postgate <jnp10@cam.ac.uk> came this notice about a website that
compiles archaeological and historic sites deemed at risk.


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Introduction

Although in Iraq to date UNESCO has acknowledged only one World Heritage
site (Hatra), this is perhaps because the whole country should be so
designated. Iraq is often described as the cradle of civilization, and the
country is thickly dotted with the remains of thousands of villages, towns
and cities.

In 1990 the hostilities affected a number of archaeological sites. Rocket
or shell fire damaged the brickwork of the ziggurrat at Ur (constructed in
2100 BC and restored around 550 BC). American troops were probably also
responsible for minor looting at the site of Ur itself. Cracks appeared in
the arch at Ctesiphon (Taq Kisra, dating to the 5th century AD and until
last century the largest single span vault in the world). Traditional
houses on the citadel at Kerkuk were destroyed by bombing.

In a ground confrontation the greatest danger to archaeological sites is
posed by the fact that their mounds, which can be 30m high and extend over
kilometres are often the only raised features on the southern alluvial
plain, and therefore liable to be adopted by combatants for various
purposes. With modern machinery an entire 6000 year old village can be
recycled into a defensive earthwork in a day or two, and even
old-fashioned trenches, which were much used in the last hostilities, can
do irreparable damage to sites of paramount interest. Since the foreign
troops did not significantly penetrate the inhabited sector of the
southern Iraqi plain, the only example known to us is at Tell al-Lahm
south of Ur, where extensive damage was done by American bulldozers.
Another example of what can happen is provided by the ancient city of Der,
modern Tell Aqar, which was converted into a military emplacement by the
Iraqi army during the Iraq-Iran war. The trenching cut through the 4500
year old main temple uncovering unique statues and completely destroying
their architectural context.

A further risk is that archaeological trenches may be mistaken from the
air for military emplacements. We do not have documented instances of this
happening in 1990, but again in the 1980's the excavated site of Godin
Tepe in western Iran was attacked from the air causing considerable damage
to the 5000 year old excavated remains.

However, the chief potential casualty from modern explosives is standing
architecture. One of the surviving ancient churches of Mosul (10th
century) was partly destroyed in 1990. There are others equally old and at
risk, not to mention a number of monasteries in the district some of which
date back to the 4th Century AD. The minarets of the mediaeval mosques of
Mosul and other cities are structurally very vulnerable, but entire
mosques are of course at risk. Quite apart from the architectural and
historical value of such structures, in Iraq the destruction of places of
worship has been viewed with particular abhorrence since at least 2400 BC,
and should be avoided with the utmost care.

Iraq's few surviving old bridges must be imperilled, as must the few
mediaeval and earlier forts, being self-evidently military structures.
Unlike Egypt, Iraq does not have many standing monuments in stone, the
principal example being the Parthian city of Hatra, but several ancient
capital cities have been excavated with their palaces and temples
uncovered, in Assyria with sculptured reliefs lining the walls (especially
at Nineveh [Kouyunjik] and Nimrud).

Last, but not least, there are the museums. In 1990 the portable contents
of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad were transferred to another site, from where
they have since been returned; we do not know if similar measures have
been taken this time, although they have reportedly in Mosul. The
destruction of the Iraq Museum would be an appalling loss to the world.
The majority of all archaeological finds made in the country since its
foundation in 1920 are stored there. As well as individual items of
stunning beauty and importance from successive civilizations (Sumerian,
Babylonian, Assyrian, Islamic), it shelters huge archives of cuneiform
documents, many still unpublished, excavated by Iraqi and foreign
expeditions: these include the earliest written archives in the world from
Uruk, Sumerian literary texts from the schools of ancient Mesopotamia from
2500 down to 1600 BC, and the 4th century BC temple library of Sippar.

There are also museums in most of the Governorates, stocked with
representative but still extremely valuable exhibits selected from the
central collections in Baghdad. In 1990-91 several of these were looted in
the aftermath of the withdrawal from Kuwait. Chests of manuscripts were
recovered scattered across a hillside near Kerkuk. Finds in the Dohuk
Museum were ground underfoot, and extremely few of the 4000 lost pieces
have been identified on the world's art markets. The contents of the
Nasiriyyah Museum were rescued by the courageous action of its woman
Director who defied looters at the front door while a lorry was loaded at
the back. We cite these instances to illustrate the danger which attends
the breakdown of law and order which can so easily result from military
action.

There follows a list of some of the principal historic buildings and
archaeological sites which we deem to be most at risk in the event of
armed incursion or aerial bombardment. Within site categories the lists
are broadly arranged from NW to SE. The maps incorporate the work of Helen
McDonald, but were prepared for a different purpose and do not show sites
after the time of Alexander the Great. Latitude and longitude co-ordinates
are taken from the Gazetteer of sites in M.D. Roaf, Cultural Atlas of
Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, and should be taken as approximate.

Clicking on the name of a site or monument in the list will take you to
the relevant map; and doing the same on the map will take you back to the
list. Or you can use the BACK button or key on your browser to return to
this page. Alternatively you can view the maps by following the links at
the bottom of this page.
 

<http://users.ox.ac.uk/~wolf0126/>

You will need to go there to connect these sites to the maps that are
provided.