Cultural Heritage in the Middle East

Cultural Heritage in" rel="nofollow">in the Middle East Order Description In April 2003, at the time that coalition forces took control of Baghdad, the Iraqi National Museum suffered from a number of episodes of lootin" rel="nofollow">ing. It is commonly agreed that close to 15,000 artifacts were taken from the museum before it was secured. Many of the more famous artifacts have been returned to the museum either through an amnesty program in" rel="nofollow">in the immediate aftermath of the thefts or in" rel="nofollow">in the past few years as a result of in" rel="nofollow">investigations and attentive customs officials. The lootin" rel="nofollow">ing of previously unexcavated material in" rel="nofollow">in the field has been a far less public, but far worse situation. It is hard to calculate the loss to archaeology of material that was never systematically excavated to begin" rel="nofollow">in with. Take a look at some of the followin" rel="nofollow">ing lin" rel="nofollow">inks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_Iraq#Damage_and_losses_durin" rel="nofollow">ing_2003_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeological_lootin" rel="nofollow">ing_in" rel="nofollow">in_Iraq Here is a recent article in" rel="nofollow">in the NYT outlin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing the current state of the problem. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/world/middleeast/08iraq.html Take a look too at the database (apparently no longer main" rel="nofollow">intain" rel="nofollow">ined as of 2008) that had been listin" rel="nofollow">ing the materials known to have been stolen. https://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ/dbfiles/Iraqdatabasehome.htm But this is not just limited to Iraq. In other parts of the Middle East, such as Syria, civil unrest has resulted in" rel="nofollow">in the destruction / lootin" rel="nofollow">ing of a large number of sites, many of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage Registry. Here are some relevant lin" rel="nofollow">inks: https://www.livescience.com/39381-syria-archaeology-at-risk.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heritage_sites_damaged_durin" rel="nofollow">ing_Syrian_civil_war And an extensive report: https://ghn.globalheritagefund.com/uploads/documents/document_2107.pdf The terror group Daesh has taken this type of lootin" rel="nofollow">ing and destruction to a whole new level not only by engagin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in the sale of antiquities to fund their campaign but also by publishin" rel="nofollow">ing their destructive activities in" rel="nofollow">in shockin" rel="nofollow">ing fashion through social media. Members of the group are even willin" rel="nofollow">ing to kill archaeologists to get to the artifacts kept in" rel="nofollow">in hidin" rel="nofollow">ing. On why we should call the group "Daesh." https://www.bostonglobe.com/opin" rel="nofollow">inion/2014/10/09/words-matter-isis-war-use-daesh/V85GYEuasEEJgrUun0dMUP/story.html On the tragic fate of Khaled al-Asaad. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/18/isis-beheads-archaeologist-syria On how the sale of antiquities helps to fund the group. https://news.usni.org/2014/10/27/isis-funds-terror-black-market-antiquities-trade Some articles on how these acts of destruction on social media workin" rel="nofollow">ing the group's favor. https://www.nytimes.com/in" rel="nofollow">interactive/2015/06/29/world/middleeast/isis-historic-sites-control.html?_r=0 https://www.vox.com/2015/3/11/8184207/islamist-monuments On how the iconoclastic message of Daesh seems a bit disin" rel="nofollow">ingenuous. https://www.salon.com/2015/04/12/isis_and_the_corrupt_art_trade_we_know_cultural_crimes_fund_terrorism_now_what/ But perhaps not https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-real-value-of-the-isis-antiquities-trade So, now that you know a little more about this let's discuss the issue. Is this a big deal to you? (and it's ok if it isn't...just explain" rel="nofollow">in why) What has been lost here? What should have been done differently about this? (and keep in" rel="nofollow">in min" rel="nofollow">ind the context of the lootin" rel="nofollow">ing) How much are collectors of art and ancient artifacts to blame here? What about those of us who view these acts of destruction on social media or the news outlets that show them on main" rel="nofollow">instream television? And by extension, what should academics who, in" rel="nofollow">in some ways, help to shape the demands of the art market, be doin" rel="nofollow">ing to deal with this type of activity? Fin" rel="nofollow">inally, what can we here in" rel="nofollow">in Michigan do about this? Should we do anythin" rel="nofollow">ing about this? Discuss....