Embassy of the United States of America Heritage in Peril · cultural heritage is a critical step...
Transcript of Embassy of the United States of America Heritage in Peril · cultural heritage is a critical step...
Heritage in Peril Iraq and Syria
T he damage and looting of historic sites in Iraq and Syria are rapidly destroy-
ing all evidence of ancient life and society. Fragile sites and buildings have suffered as collateral damage to battles, targets for purposeful ideological destruction, and prey for systematic looting. More than 90 percent of Syria’s cultural sites are inside areas of conflict and displacement. Further damage to these countries’ trea-sures increases the loss of their common heritage and cultural leg-acies of universal importance.
As the international community responds to the wanton destruc-tion perpetrated by extremists in Iraq and Syria, we also recognize that preserving these countries’ cultural heritage is a critical step toward reconstruction, reconcilia-tion, and building civil society. In Iraq, the United States govern-ment has provided nearly $33 mil-lion since 2003 for a broad range of cultural heritage projects, includ-ing infrastructure upgrades to the Iraq National Museum, establish-ment of a cultural heritage preser-
vation training institute in Erbil, and site management planning and conservation work at the site of ancient Babylon. The U.S. Depart-ment of State also partnered with international organizations to de-velop the Emergency Red List of Iraqi Antiquities at Risk to enable customs officials to identify and detain objects from Iraq that are particularly at risk of looting, theft, and illicit trafficking.
Embassy of the United States of America
Above: In Raqqa, Syria, a colossal ancient Assyrian lion sculpture dating to the eighth
century BC was purposely smashed by extremists using a bulldozer. Photo: John Russell
In Syria, the U.S. Department of State sponsored publication of the Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk to alert international customs authorities to the illicit trafficking of Syrian artifacts. It also produced a map featuring 1,000 important museums, historic buildings, and archaeolog-ical sites to raise awareness of threats to Syrian cultural heritage.The Department recently partnered with the American Schools of Orient Research to comprehen-sively document the condition of, and threats to, cultural heritage
sites in Syria and assess their future restoration, preservation, and protection needs. This project is now being expanded to document
threats to sites in Iraq as well. Findings are posted weekly at: http://www.asor-syrianheritage.org/. The U.S. State Department is urging all parties in Iraq, Syria, and the international community to respect and protect archaeolog-ical, historic, religious, and cultural sites, including museums and archives. All those who destroy important cultural property must be held accountable.
The map above shows cultural heritage sites that are at risk in Syria.
September 2014
Heritage in Peril: Iraq and Syria
U N I T E D S TA T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S TA T EB U R E A U O F I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N P R O G R A M S
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Euphrates
Euphrates
Nah
r a l
Kha
bur
Oro
nte
s
MediterraneanSea
Jord
an
L i tani
L i ta ni
Hasbani
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Aleppo
Latakia
Ar Raqqah
Tartus
As Suwayda'
Al Qunaytirah
Amrit
Ma’arratan Nu’man
Shahba
Bosra
Beirut
Damascus
Dura Europos
Palmyra
Apamea
BaraBara
The Dead Cities
Cyrrhus
Qanawat
Banias
Ugarit
I R A Q
T U R K E Y
J O R D A N
CYPRUS
LEBANON
ISRAEL
West Bank*
Buhayrat al AsadBuhayrat al Asad
LakeTiberias
LakeTiberias
* Israeli-occupied with current status subject to Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement; permanent status to be determined through further negotiations.
GolanHeights(Israeli
occupied)
GolanHeights(Israeli
occupied)
1949 ArmisticeLine
1949 ArmisticeLine
1949 ArmisticeLine
1949 ArmisticeLine
1994TreatyLine
1994TreatyLine
UNDOFZone
UNDOFZone
Resafa
0 30 60 km
0 30 60 mi
Well-preserved Syrian Cultural Heritage Sites
^ National capital
Selected populated place
Selected cultural site
Area of con�ict &displacementApproximate area of the Dead Cities
6 Syrian properties inscribed on UNESCO’s
World Heritage List
5 Appeals from UNESCO concerning Aleppo
35,525 Manuscripts in library collections
(Source: World Guide to Libraries, 2013)
Over 77,000 cultural objects in the National Museum of Damascus alone
(Source: Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums)
The Dead Cities are roughly 700 abandoned towns, monasteries, and farmsteads from the Roman and Byzantine Periods (1st-8th centuries AD) spread over limestone hills. They constitute a unique cultural landscape.
Ancient cityArchaeological siteCivic siteCommercial siteEducational siteForti�cationFunerary siteMixed ancient &modern siteMuseumReligious siteResidential siteTotal well-preserved sites
Inside area of con�ictand displacement
8362
13210764938441
2625645993
Outside area of con�ict and displacement
17115----16--2
212570
Total
10073
13710764
1098443
2826850
1,063
Ancient cityArchaeological siteCivic siteCommercial siteEducational siteForti�cation
Funerary site
Museum
Residential siteReligious site
Mixed ancient &modern site
7% of Syria’s cultural sites remain outsideareas of con�ict and displacement
93% of Syria’s culturalsites are inside areas of
con�ict and displacement
93% of Syria’s culturalsites are inside areas of
con�ict and displacement
Names and boundary representation are not necessarily authoritative U899 9-13 STATE (INR)
D
EPARTMENT OF STATE
BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RES
EARC
H
INRSyria: Cultural Heritage Sites at Risk
HUMANITARIAN INFORMATION UNIT
[email protected]://hiu.state.gov
U.S. Department of State
Left: Mashhad Imam Yahya Ibn al-Qasim, located in Mosul, Iraq, was built in 1239 by Badr
al-Din Lu’lu’, the ruler of Mosul who supported the Shi’i belief. Photo: © Yasser Tabaa