The Cultural Heritage Crises in Syria and Northern Iraq: Recent … · 2015-10-09 · In Year 1,...
Transcript of The Cultural Heritage Crises in Syria and Northern Iraq: Recent … · 2015-10-09 · In Year 1,...
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The Cultural Heritage Crises in Syria and Northern Iraq: Recent Developments
Dr. Michael D. Danti American Schools of Oriental Research Cultural Heritage Initiatives (NEA-PSHSS-14-001 ) September 29, 2015
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Documenting Damage
Promoting Global
Awareness
Planning Emergency
and Post-war Responses
•Providing U.S. Department of State with accurate and timely analyses of the cultural heritage situation in the conflict zones of Syria and Iraq:
-Information collected from people on the ground
-Open source information
-High resolution satellite imagery
•Funding extended for year 2
American Schools of Oriental Research Cultural Heritage Initiatives (NEA-PSHSS-14-001 )
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In Year 1, ASOR CHI reported on 711 heritage incidents in Syria and 80 incidents in Iraq
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Total Reported Incidents in Syria in Year 1 by Province
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In Year 1, antiquities looting in Syria represented the most frequently reported heritage incident with 164 known incidents (25%). This number does not include antiquities thefts from cultural repositories or other illegal digging on archaeological sites (e.g., farming, development, military) that potentially produces illicit antiquities. 1) Looting — 164 (25%) 2) Combat Damage — 126 (20%) 3) Illegal Digging — 115 (18%) 4) Illegal Construction — 72 (11%) 5) Deliberate Destruction of Heritage Places — 65 (10%) 6) Vandalism — 33 (5%)
Looted Palmyrene Sculpture
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Who’s Looting? All the Main Belligerents in the Conflict
ISIL (blue) Severe: 8 Moderate: 18 Minor: 42 68/412 (16.5%)
Syrian Regime (red) Severe: 3 Moderate: 7 Minor: 25 34/218 (15.6%)
Opposition (green) Severe: 2 Moderate: 6 Minor: 53 61/232 (26.3%)
Kurdish (yellow) Severe: 1 Moderate: 2 Minor: 28 31/132 (23.5%)
Looted sites identified in satellite imagery samples (Jesse Casana).
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Apamea: Intensive Looting
August 24, 2015
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Dura Europos: Intensive Looting
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Dura Europos: Intensive Looting
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Mari, Syria
11/11/2014
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Initial data on trafficking suggest antiquities are smuggled out of Syria and Iraq following routes similar to those of refugees fleeing the conflict zone.
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ASOR CHI documented ca. 1000 antiquities on the illicit market from Syria and Iraq. Antiquities are marketed globally using digital photographs via cell phones and social media sites — there is a digital trail. Dealing appears to be fairly direct.
Facebook page to sell looted Syrian artifacts.
Antiquities Trafficking and Sales
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Looting and Trafficking Data — Caching Antiquities
ISIL and other groups are caching material for later trafficking and sales, but a surprising amount of material is already in circulation on illicit markets.
Winged victory bas-relief cached by ISIL with other antiquities near Hasakah, northern Syria.
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Marketed Antiquities
Cell phone image of coins and other metal artifacts for sale — typical of metal detecting.
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Marketed Antiquities — “Dura”
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Marketed Antiquities
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Marketed Antiquities
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Marketed Antiquities
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Marketed Antiquities
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Marketed Antiquities
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Marketed Antiquities
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Marketed Antiquities — Palmyrene Sculptures
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Marketed Antiquities
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Sumerian inscribed wall plaque from southern Iraq 3rd millennium BC (supposedly the Lagash area).
Athenian dekadrachm — likely fake (467–465 BCE)
Tetradrachm of Phillip III of Macedon (323–317 BCE)
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Marketed Antiquities
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Marketed Antiquities with Registration Numbers
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Revenue Streams and ISIL Cultural Property Crime
• Looting • ISIL hires workmen to loot, licenses looting by others, and taxes
looting (there has been a shift toward increased control/organization)
• ISIL occasionally engages directly in looting, but most involvement has been indirect
• ISIL robs cultural repositories and steals cultural property from its opponents
• Trafficking • ISIL taxes smuggling through its territory/border crossings • ISIL caches material for later distribution and sale
• Illicit Antiquities Sales
• ISIL sells material and taxes the antiquities sales of others • Digital marketing is used to reach global buyers and circumvent
vulnerabilities in traditional distribution and marketing
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Special Thanks To:
U.S. Department of State, J.M. Kaplan Fund, and the ASOR CHI team and our many partners.
asor-syrianheritage.org
This work is supported by the U.S. State Department’s Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria: A Research Project Funding
Opportunity # NEA_PSHSS_14-001, “An International Collaboration to Document and Preserve Syrian Cultural Heritage” and the
J.M. Kaplan Fund