neville, a. y palumbo, g. protecting iraq's sites. gci. 2005

8/3/2019 Neville, A. y Palumbo, G. Protecting Iraq's Sites. GCI. 2005

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Conservat ion

TheGettyConservationInstitut

eNewsletter

nVolume20,Number32005


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TheJ.PaulGettyTrust

BarryMunitz President and Chie Executive Ofcer

TheGettyConservationInstitute

TimothyP.Whalen Director

JeanneMarieTeutonico Associate Director, Programs

KathleenGaines Assistant Director, Administration

KristinKelly Assistant Director, Dissemination and Research Resources

GiacomoChiari Chie Scientist

FranoisLeBlanc Head o Field Projects

Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter

JeffreyLevin Editor

AngelaEscobar Assistant Editor

JoeMolloy Graphic Designer

ColorWestLithographyInc. Lithography

The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) works internationally to advance

the feld o conservation through scientifc research, feld projects,

education and training, and the dissemination o inormation in

various media. In its programs, the GCI ocuses on the creation and

delivery o knowledge that will beneft the proessionals and organiza-

tions responsible or the conservation o the visual arts.

The GCI is a program o the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural

and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that also

includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty R esearch Institute, and

the Getty Foundation.

Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter,

is distributed ree o charge three times per year, to proessionals

in conservation and related felds and to members o the public

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2005J.PaulGettyTrust

The GettyConservationInstituteNewsletter

Volume 20, Number 3 2005

Front cover:ParticipantsintheICCROM-GCI2005advancedcourseindocumentation,heldinRome.Thisfour-weekcourseformidcareerprofessionalsandeducatorsaddressedtheneeds,methodology,andtechniquesforacquiringandusingrecords,inventories,andinformationmanagementtoolsfortheconservationofculturalheritage.Photo:AlejandroAlva/CourtesyofICCROM.


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T

Protecting Iraqs Sites

and Monuments SupportforaNationsKeepers

ofCulturalHeritage

By Neville Agnew and Gaetano Palumbo

The archaeological record found in Iraq is one o the

most important, complex, and hitherto complete repositories in the

world, stretching back into deep antiquity. A number o the worlds

early civilizations arose in this land, once known as Mesopotamia,

and the remains o those and o later human settlements cover the

landscape.

That heritage is at risk. Donny George, current chairman o

Iraqs State Board o Antiquities and Heritage (sbah), stated in

Newsweek in March 2005 that there are around eleven thousand reg-

istered sites in the country and that many thousands o objects were

removed rom those sites between1991 and 2005 (but especially

ater the war o March 2003), without any possibility o their being

recorded or o anyones knowing what was illegally exported. For-

mer Coalition Provisional Authority oYcial John Russell, writing

in 2005 inArchitectural Record, estimated that some 400,000 to

600,000 cultural artiacts have been removed rom these sites since

spring 2003.

It is sae to assume that many previously unknown or unex-

plored sites are being looted as well. Destruction o these sites

through thet eliminates the archaeological record, making it impos-

sible to know what inormation and knowledge o early civilizationshas been lost. While items stolen rom museums can be identifed

thanks to existing records and documentation shared with organiza-

tions such as Interpol and icomthose taken illicitly rom sites

have no record and are degraded in cultural inormation. These

losses continue.

With so much attention naturally ocused on the continuing

tragedy o violence in Iraq, it is easy to orget that preceding the

wars o1991 and 2003 was the drawn out Iran-Iraq War (1980

1988). Throughout all o these events, sbah unctioned heroically

N

i

C

i

TemplefacadeattheancientsiteofUmma(TellJokha)insouthernIraq,destroyedbylooterslookingforinscribedbricks.Sincespring2003,hundredsofthousandsofculturalartifactshavebeenremovedfromarchaeologicalsitesthroughoutIraq.Photo:JoanneFarchakh-Bajjaly.

Conservation, The GCI Newsletterl Volume20 , Number 32005 l News in Conservation 1


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but with ever-diminishing unding and staYng and, in many cases,

without the ability to assess damage to sites or to implement protec-

tive measures. With regard to preserving cultural heritage in Iraq,

one o the great needs is to rebuild the sbahs proessional capacity,

which has been depleted by years o isolation and war.

Graphic images o the looted Iraq Museum in Baghdad

prompted the international community to provide support andexpertise to the Iraqi authorities, including the sbah. unesco acted

quickly ater the outbreak o hostilities to convene meetings and to

draw up an international coordinating committee or Iraq. While

recognizing that protection and rehabilitation are long-term pro-

cesses in the best o circumstances, since April 2003, unesco has

endeavored to assess conditions and to develop an overall strategy to

protect Iraqs cultural heritage. The unesco report on the inspection

o sites in Iraq, undertaken in May 2003 under the direction o

Mounir Bouchenaki, identifed our types o damage to archaeologi-

cal sites as a result o wars, sanctions, and the collapse o inrastruc-ture: looting, military bases, accelerated decay, and questionable

reconstruction methods at sites such as Babylon in the 1980s.

The GCI-WMF Initiative

The Getty Conservation Institute, in conjunction with the World

Monuments Fund (wmf), decided to develop a major initiative to

help rebuild the proessional expertise and heritage inrastructure

in Iraq. The gci-wmf Iraq Cultural Heritage Conservation

Initiative is the frst time that the two organizations have ormallyworked together.

Ater examining the urgent needs in Iraq and how to best use

the two organizations resourcesand considering their in-house

staVexpertisethe gci and wmf opted or an eVort ocused on

immovable heritage: archaeological sites and monuments. Because

o the continuing security concerns and the impossibility o inter-

vening directly in sites and monuments in Iraq, the decision was

made to assist the sbah in rebuilding its proessional capacity and to

help the organization procure technical equipment. The gci-wmf

initiative is designed to aid in that rebuilding process by providing

training in tools and methodologies that can aid in archaeological

site documentation, site assessment, and site management.

One important aspect o rebuilding sbahs proessional capac-

ity is the development o a national database o heritage sites in Iraq.

The gci and wmf are working with the sbah on the creation o the

Iraq Cultural Heritage Sites Geographic Inormation System (gis)

Database, currently in development through an agreement with

Arizona State University. The bilingual Arabic and English gis

database (scheduled or installation in Baghdad in 2006) will be a

signifcant cultural resource management tool. When ully devel-

Above:DonnyGeorge(center),chairmanofIraqsStateBoardofAntiquitiesandHeritage(SBAH),alongwithBurhanShakir(right),directorgeneralofexcavationsatSBAH,andIhsanFethi(left),deanoftheFacultyofArtsatAmmanUniversity,atameetingatUNESCOtodiscussplansforthefall2005trainingcourseoftheGCI-WMFIraqCulturalHeritageConservationInitiative.Photo:MarioSantanaQuintero/GCI-WMFIraqCulturalHeritageConservationInitiative.Right:Atthefall2005trainingcourseinAmman,Jordan,instructorsandSBAH

participantsdiscussformstobeusedfortherapidassessmentofculturalheritagesitesinIraq.DatafromtheformswillbecompiledintheIraqCulturalHeritageSitesGISDatabase.Photo:RandEppich.

1 Conservation, The GCI Newsletter l Volume 20, Number 32005l News in Conservation


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oped, it will provide a national inventory o Iraqi archaeological sites

and monuments. With the database, sbah authorities will be able to

monitor development activities in areas o potential impact and to

coordinate measures with other governmental agencies to reduce

threats to the integrity o sites and buildings. This tool will also pro-

vide the sbah with the capability to conduct various database que-

ries, as well as a number o geographic analysis unctions.

The initiatives frst major training program or sbah staVwas

conducted in Amman, Jordan (see Conservation, vol. 20, no. 1), in

late 2004. This one-month program or sixteen sbah participants

ocused on acquiring a methodology or the rapid assessment o

archaeological sites and historic buildings and the use o the Iraq

Cultural Heritage Sites gis Database. The rapid site assessment

methodology taught to sbah oYcials will yield critical inormation

on the current status and condition o sites and monuments in the

atermath o war and continued looting. The course also provided

training in the use o documentation recording equipment (some

o which was purchased or the sbah by unesco), including GlobalPositioning System (gps) units, total survey stations, digital cam-

eras, and laser distance meters.

During the frst hal o2005, the gci-wmf initiative held three

short-term training activities or sbah personnel. These included a

one-week gps course in April in Amman, a two-week program on

the rapid assessment methodology and recording tools or sbah per-

sonnel rom Babylon, held at the British Museum (with support

rom unesco and the involvement o University College London),

and a ten-day metric survey course in June in Amman, taught by

specialists rom English Heritage and Leica Geosystems.In August and September 2005, the gci-wmf initiative

conducted an additional monthlong training program in Jordan or

twenty-one sbah personnel, including the directors o the sbah

oYces rom the governorates o Babylon, Basra, Kirkuk, and

Nineveh. The course included modules on the rapid site assessment

methodology and the use o site recording tools; it also ocused

on site condition assessment and recording, international heritage

conventions, charters and organizations, and site management

planning.

In addition to this training, since all 2004, the gci-wmf initia-tive has been supporting English-language classes in Iraq or sbah

personnel who are participating in the initiatives courses.

The training activities have been conducted with sbah staV

with various proessional backgrounds rom most regions o the

countrywho have displayed an eagerness or inormation on

equipment and techniques to which they have not previously had

access. And as oten happens in these kinds o circumstances, teach-

ing has not been one sided. sbah staVhave had much to share with

their instructors. At the same time, in the process o identiying

needs, preparing course contents, and fne-tuning the database, the

assistance osbah directorsrom its chairman to the directors o

the excavation, conservation, and architectural heritage sections

has been essential to the programs success.

The support o the organizations and individuals joining with

the gci-wmf initiative has also been considerable (see sidebar).

Among them are the Jordanian Department o Antiquities. When

its director general, Fawwaz al-Khraysheh, was asked whether the

resources o the department could be used to support the training

initiatives, his reply was, We must help our Iraqi brothers. Not

only have acilities been made available but there have also been gen-

erous contributions rom Jordan in staV, lectures, logistical support,

and access to sites as training venues.

While it would be desirable to conduct training initiatives in

Baghdad or elsewhere in Iraq, the security situation remains danger-

ous. With easy access to Amman and with good acilities available at

the American Center o Oriental Research, the training has been

TrainingcourseparticipantsassessconditionsattheBronzeandIronAgearchaeologicalsiteofTallAl-Umayri,Jordan.Photo:DavidMyers.

AcourseparticipantfromtheSBAHpracticesusingaglobalpositioningsystemunitduringthetrainingcourse.Photo:RandEppich.

Conservation, The GCI Newsletterl Volume20 , Number 32005 l News in Conservation 19


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eYcient and eVective and is ully backed by sbahs chairman DonnyGeorge and his staV. The initiative is also ortunate in having the

participation o several expatriate Iraqi proessionals who are work-

ing closely with gci-wmf staVand consultants.

Priorities in Iraq

The seriousness o conditions in Iraq prompted the World

Monuments Fund, or the frst time, to put an entire country on

its biannual list o the One Hundred Most Endangered Sites.

In Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report for2004/2005 on

Monuments and Sites in Danger, Ihsan Fethione o the instructors

with the gci-wmf initiativewrote that the scale o the loss and

destruction o Iraqi cultural heritage has been incomprehensibly

large, and that most o it could have been avoided.

Fethi gives priority to a number o measures, including:

new policies and strategies with an integrated protective

system;

new physical planning policies and development plans or all

urban centers, towns, and villages, using gis techniques,

to ensure the conservation o the remaining historic abric;

promulgation o new and more stringent laws to halt urther

losses or encroachment;

preparation o a national register o cultural heritage,

including the designation o historic areas, areas o

outstanding natural beauty, and classifcation o all buildings

and monuments, according to their architectural or historic

interest; and

initiation o a national program or the protection and

restoration, and even reconstruction, o lost monuments.

This is an ambitious checklist, to which might be added arevision o university heritage planning and management curricula,

and the integration o archaeology, conservation, and management.

OYcials at the sbah, who have had the challenge o protecting a or-

midable cultural heritage under extreme and dangerous conditions,

share many o these concerns.

The gci-wmf initiative is an eVort to assist the Iraqi proes-

sionals who would carry out these measures. By helping these

proessionals identiy and address Iraqs archaeological and archi-

tectural site conservation needs and priorities and by providing

education, training, and capacity-building programs, the initiative

hopes that the sbah will ultimately have available the long-term tools

and proessional capabilities necessary to regain stewardship o

Iraq's archaeological and architectural sites. Other organizations,

including the Japanese and Italian cooperation agencies, the Islamic

Educational, Scientifc, and Cultural Organization (isesco), and the

Nordic World Heritage Foundation are also implementing assis-

tance and training courses, many o which are taking place in Jordan

with the help o Jordanian institutions.

There is still hope that the uture o Iraqs past can be secured.

At the moment, the urgent need remains to help Iraqi proessionals

and heritage oYcials to halt the continuing damage and hemorrhag-

ing o antiquities rom looted sites, and to assist them in rejoining

the international heritage community.

Neville Agnew is principal project specialist with GCI Field Projects.

Gaetano Palumbo is director o archaeological conservation with the World

Monuments Fund ofce in Paris.

Institutions

Supporting the

GCI-WMF Iraq

Cultural Heritage

Conservation

Initiative

unesco

funding for training and equipment

Jordanian Department o Antiquities

hosting and supporting coordinating

activities in Jordan; training support

American Center o Oriental Research

hosting and coordinating activities

in Jordan

English Heritage

training support

J. M. Kaplan Fund

funding general initiative activities

U.S. National Endowment or the Humanities

funding database development

U.S. National Park Service

training support

Environmental Systems Research Institute

software donations

20 Conservation, The GCI Newsletter l Volume 20, Number 32005l News in Conservation

neville, a. y palumbo, g. protecting iraq's sites. gci. 2005

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