Iraq harnesses technology to protect ancient treasures

Known to many as the "cradle of civilization," Iraq is a treasure trove of important archaeological sites including Babylon, Ur and Nimrud.

Yet hostile circumstances on the ground have left the country's antique heritage vulnerable to looting and damage.

International calls for the safeguarding of Iraq's ancient sites have resulted in the development of a sophisticated geodatabase record of ancient sites and monuments, which it is hoped will allow them to be better monitored and protected.

MEGA-Iraq (Middle Eastern geodatabase for heritage) is being developed by the Getty Conservation Institute and the World Monuments Fund alongside Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.

Susan Macdonald is Head of Field Projects at the Getty Conservation Institute.

She said: "While many in the international archaeological community focused on the looting of museums, no-one was really paying much attention to this issue of archaeological sites, and that really there was no good inventory or database of records of these."

Using Google's freely available satellite imagery as a base map, she said, MEGA allows users to focus on particular archaeological sites, see a terrain map or an aerial view of the site and surrounding buffer zones, and scan in to access details of the site's features.

Because of the visual nature of the geodatabase, users will have an accurate picture of the condition of a site at a given time and therefore be able to pinpoint any changes in its condition, according to Macdonald. Also, newly discovered sites, usually most vulnerable to looting, can be quickly input into the database.

An earlier project was abandoned in 2007 because of the dangerous situation on the ground in Iraq. That project was transferred to Jordan in collaboration with the country's Department of Antiquities and MEGA-Jordan is today live and actively used.

According to Jeffrey Allen, a consultant for the World Monuments Fund, timing is crucial to the success of the project. "We're now trying to implement the system in much more difficult circumstances (than in Jordan), but it's probably easier to do it now in Iraq than it would have been previously," he said.

Developing MEGA now, he continued, will help ensure that as the country starts to rebuild itself, future infrastructural plans won't encroach on existing archaeological sites.

While many countries have electronic archaeological databases, Macdonald said, MEGA is different in that it uses open-source software, is accessible online, requires minimal specialist training to use, and is multi-lingual.

"The real power of it comes when (many) people are using it," she said, adding that ministries and local governments across Iraq would potentially have access to it.

MEGA has been met with applause from archaeologists across the globe.

Dr. Lamia al-Gailani-Werr is an Iraqi archaeologist and consultant for the Ministry of Culture there.

She said: "I think (the database) is essential. It depends on the political situation because Iraq is still not stable enough for archaeologists to go everywhere but I think it's very good to do."

She is working on a computerized inventory of objects in the National Museum, which will further help Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage know what it has and help in protecting it.

The extent of illegal antiquities trade is hard to gauge, according to Interpol's website, often because items aren't known to be lost until they appear on the art market and because of the dearth of detailed inventories of items in countries such as Iraq.

"The fact is, every country ought to have a database for their archaeological sites," said John Curtis, Keeper of the Middle East collections at the British Museum in London.

While theoretically MEGA has the potential to be linked up to collections inventories, Curtis stressed that it is "a survey of sites in Iraq, not objects, it's not specifically going to help tracking lost items.

"What it might do is help them be protected in the future," he added.

Julian Radcliffe, chairman of The Art Loss Register, an international database of stolen and missing works of art and antiquities, agreed, saying: "On its own it wouldn't do much to stop looting, but that's true of many initiatives. Nobody's got a silver bullet for this."

What is constitutes, he said, is a useful starting point, an important measure among many that will help organizations such as his own and Interpol track down lost items.

"If there has been recent looting from a particular site revealed by this new MEGA database, then we would be alerted to the fact that we should look for items of the type that will have come out of that site," he explained.

"Therefore we would say, when we see an item that we're suspicious of, I wonder whether it came from that site," he said.

And according to Allen of the World Monuments Fund, there is one other reason that MEGA will be important to the people of Iraq.

"I just think (it's) going to help people have more respect for their cultural heritage because they can commodify it and they can measure how much they have in a much better way," he said.

From CNN

Archaeologists explore Iraqi marshes for origins of urbanization

The first non-Iraqi archaeological investigation of the Tigris-Euphrates delta in 20 years was a preliminary foray by three women who began to explore the links between wetland resources and the emergence and growth of cities last year.

"Foreign investigations in Iraq stopped in the 1990s," said Carrie Hritz, assistant professor of anthropology, Penn State. "Iraqis continued research, but because their work is unpublished, we are unsure of where they surveyed."

The marshlands in Iraq and Iran were drained between 1950 and the 1990s. While initial explanations were that Iraq needed the land for agricultural uses, more often than not, politics played a role. After the first Gulf war, Saddam Hussein drained the areas between the Tigris and Euphrates to control and punish Shia dissidents among the Marsh Arabs.

Restoration of the Hammar marshes is now a high national priority. If we do not act quickly, the window of opportunity for conducting work in this region will close, according to the researchers who include Hritz; Jennifer Pournelle, research assistant professor, School of the Environment, University of South Carolina, and Jennifer Smith, associate professor of geology, Washington University in St. Louis.

The project aims to investigate the contributions of the early-mid Holocene shoreline of the gulf and marshes to the economic foundations of Mesopotamian cities. The researchers are looking at archaeological sites from 5,000 B.C. to Islamic times.

"Our interest is in early settlement," Hritz told attendees today (Mar 31) at the annual meeting of the Society of American Archaeology in Sacramento, Calif. " The early period of settlement is always linked to the development of agriculture."

Hritz notes, however, that marshes have all the resources necessary for settlement – fish, game and plants. She suggests that people would need a wide resource base to create urban areas in the midst of the Tigris-Euphrates delta and that the early cities in the marshes might have been precursors to agricultural settlements.

Carrying out any type of survey in a country at war is difficult and making arrangements becomes a daunting task.

"Ultimately, we found that the only way to get into the country that was cost effective was to go on a tour with a British tour company," said Hritz. "While in Bagdad, we met with the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, and they encouraged us to visit the sites with a SBAH representative and report back to them any observations."

The researchers also used local Iraqi security for their trip rather than hiring a foreign security firm. They spent a week on their British tour going from Bagdad to Basra and then spent five days with a private guide doing geoarchaeological survey in the Basra area.

"We saw everything we intended to see except for one area that was flooded," said Hritz. "We did not have the proper equipment to enter the flooded area."

Beside the preliminary survey, their aim was to establish collaborations with researchers at the University of Basra. They gave lectures at the university and met with geologists to determine what the researchers needed and the part that researchers and university could play.

Looting and damage to university laboratory equipment occurred during the initial stages of the current war in Iraq. The researchers plan to include the University of Basra scientists in their future work and hope to use not only their expertise, but also enhance their facilities.

"One thing we were able to do was to move forward the process to get the University of Basra access to JSTOR," said Hritz. "They now have access." JSTOR is an online database of more than 1,000 academic journals.

From PhysOrg.com

Iraq tourism hangs in balance at Babylon

The words "tourism" and "Iraq" don't often get used in the same sentence these days, but if a new project to help preserve the historic ruins of Babylon pays off, archaeologists and officials say the country could soon be back on the international travel map.

So far, 2011 has been a good year for Babylon. Work funded by a $2 million U.S. State Department grant to restore two major structures has begun and one of two museums on the site damaged in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion is re-opening.

Home to several other ancient sites, including Ur -- the capital of the ancient civilization of Sumeria -- Iraq faces a race against time to protect its heritage against looters, environmental hazards and the ravages of modern life.

It is hoped the project at Babylon, whose legendary Hanging Gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, will help foster the skills needed to transform Iraq's other renowned archaeological sites into a major draw for academics and tourists.

"We're using (Babylon) as a lab for skill building," said Jeff Allen, a conservationist with the World Monuments Fund, which is working with Iraqi officials to try to secure United Nations World Heritage protection for the site.

Although Babylon may not necessarily be top of a very long to-do list for archaeologists in the conflict-scarred country, starting there is crucial because of the site's global fame and its significance to Iraqis, Allan said.

"It holds a certain identity for them, so although I could say there are better archaeological sites in Iraq, probably none of them holds the symbolism for Iraqis that this site does," he said.

Such is Babylon's draw that even as security spiraled out of control in 2004, a handful of Christian American religious tourists were trying to gain access to the site, then occupied by U.S. and later Polish troops.

Originally known as Babel, Babylon is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments in the Bible. The city was the site of the legendary Tower of Babel and features in several Biblical prophecies.

The Iraqi government says 165 tourists from 16 different countries entered Iraq to visit historic sites between 2009 and 2010. It says their willingness to visit despite ongoing risks of violence proves Iraq's potential.

"Considering the security situation that Iraq is passing through, this number of foreign visitors gives a very good indicator of how important tourism is in Iraq and how big the tourism industry will be in the near future," said Tourism and Antiquities Ministry spokesman Abdul Zahra al-Talaqani.

The U.S. Department of State warns that "numerous insurgent groups remain active throughout Iraq" and "recommends against all but essential travel within the country."

The British Foreign office echoes that advice, saying that throughout Iraq "the situation remains highly dangerous."

According to al-Talaqani, Babylon is expected to play such a key part in reviving the country's tourism fortunes that plans are in the works to create a new airport near the site.

If followed through, this development is likely to be emblematic of the delicate balancing act faced by those restoring Babylon: the need to protect it from the pressures of modern life while bowing to the demands of locals who will need to exploit it to earn a living.

"As an archaeological site, you deal with the authentic remains and try to preserve its integrity," said Allen. "At the same time you're trying to offer opportunities for economic growth of the local area."

Another tricky problem is the extensive reconstruction undertaken under Saddam Hussein. Many features were rebuilt -- poorly, experts agree -- including a massive palace, the removal of which would cost millions of dollars.

For now, work is focused on two structures, Babylon's Ishtar Gate and its Nabu sha Hare temple, where effects of the Saddam-era reconstruction are problematic but more surmountable.

Nevertheless, the problems are being exacerbated by rising levels of corrosive water, as agricultural waste water and waste from villages pushes the water table up through surrounding salt lands.

"The degradation is at an incredible, alarming rate," said Allen of the effect of the groundwater on these structures. "We're going to have to do more investigations and find out who did what, then remove the additions and see what we have."

For those trying to preserve Babylon, it would seem the work has only just begun.

From CNN

Cyrus Cylinder debate rages on

Iran wants $300,000 in compensation from the British Museum over its failure to lend the Islamic Republic an ancient Persian treasure, state television reported.

The dispute over the so-called Cyrus Cylinder, named after the Persian ruler's 6th century BC conquest of Babylon, is a further sign of deteriorating relations between Tehran and London.

Britain is among Western powers pushing for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive work they suspect has military aims, something Iran denies.

In February, Iranian media said Tehran had cut links with the British Museum, after setting a two-month deadline late last year for the museum in London to allow the public display in Iran of the Cyrus Cylinder.

The British Museum, which houses a vast collection of world art and artifacts, said in September that plans to hand over the 2,500-year-old clay cylinder had been delayed due to unspecified "practicalities."

State-owned Press TV, in a report posted on its website on Sunday evening, said Iran had now decided to seek compensation.

"The National Museum of Iran has spent about $300,000 for the exhibition and we will demand our loss to be compensated for by the British Museum," Hamid Baqaie, head of the state Cultural Heritage Organization, was quoted as saying.

Apart from the nuclear row, Iranian officials have also accused London of interfering in Iran's internal affairs following its disputed presidential election last year which plunged the major oil producer into political turmoil.

The Iranian government has warned of a possible downgrading of ties in different fields.

Cyrus is regarded as one of ancient Persia's greatest historical figures, creating one of the world's first empires two centuries before Alexander the Great conquered the region.

He captured Babylon, in today's Iraq, in 539 B.C. and freed Jews held in captivity there. He is also credited as the author of a decree inscribed on the Cyrus Cylinder, which some have described as the first charter of human rights.

From Reuters

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Did you know: Cuneiform script  is the earliest known writing system in the world.  Cuneiform writing emerged in the Sumerian civilization of southern Iraq around the 34th century BC during the middle Uruk period, beginning as apictographic system of writing.

Archaeologists hope to resume work at Ur

The buried antiquities of Ur, Biblical birthplace of Abraham and one of the cradles of civilisation, could one day outshine those of ancient Egypt, archaeologists and workers on the site believe.

With Iraq ravaged by war and strife since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Baghdad's struggling government has had greater priorities than funding large-scale digs at Ur, where only small teams have been working since 2005.

"When the (large-scale) excavations restart, tons of antiquities will see the light of day, filling entire museum wings," enthused Dhaif Moussin, who is in charge of protecting a site that has been prone to looting.

"This site will become perhaps more important than Giza," he added, referring to the plateau outside the Egyptian capital of Cairo where some of mankind's most treasured antiquities have been unearthed, including the Sphinx and several notable pyramids.

That may not be just an idle boast.

In the early 1900s, American archaeologist Charles Leonard Woolley made some stunning finds when he unearthed 16 tombs of Ur's elite.

Inside he found some of the greatest treasures of antiquity, including a golden dagger encrusted with lapis lazuli, an intricately carved golden statue of a ram caught in a thicket, a lyre decorated with a bull's head and the gold headdress of a Sumerian queen.

Those treasures have been compared to the riches from the tomb of the Egyptian boy-king, Tutankhamun, but they excite archaeologists even more because the graves at Ur are more than 1,000 years older.

Archaeologically, the most astonishing find of Ur has been a remarkably well-preserved stepped platform, or ziggurat, which dates back to the third millennium BC, when it was part of a temple complex that served as the administrative centre of the Sumerian capital.

To date, hardly 20 percent of the site has been excavated, mainly by American and British archaeologists.

"Some archaeologists estimate it will take more than 30 years to dig out the entire city," said Moussin, surveying the site. Ur lies near a US air base just outside the southern city of Nasiriyah, a major battle ground of the American invasion.

"It is certain that much more material remains to be discovered," said Steve Tinney, professor of Assyriology at the University of Pennsylvania which, together with the British Museum, sponsored Woolley's excavations between 1922 and 1934.

Ur of the Chaldees, as it is mentioned in the Bible, was one of the great urban centres of the Sumerian civilisation of southern Iraq and remained an important city until its conquest by Alexander the Great a few centuries before Christ.

It is thought to have reached its apogee under King Ur-Nammu, an accomplished warrior and founder of Sumer's third dynasty, who is believed to have lived between 2112 and 2095 BC.

During his rule, the Sumerian capital boasted paved roads, tree-lined avenues, schools, poets, scribes, and stunning works of art and architecture of the kind discovered by Woolley and his team.

The kingdom was governed by a real administration and code of laws. Sumerian script, called cuneiform, is the earliest known writing system in the world.

Tinney said he hoped for the discovery of texts that would shed light on the culture and polytheistic religion of the Sumerians.

"We do not have literature on Ur-Nammu and his successors, the Sumerians or their rituals," Tinney said.

The site would be unequalled in the world if it proves to be the birthplace of Abraham, revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, said Moussin.

Woolley wanted to prove that Abraham had lived in Ur, after discovering Abraham's name on a brick unearthed there.

But for all of its former glory, Ur is likely to remain buried under the site that is protected by a fragile barrier and some guards, lost in a country rocked by violence and more worried about rebuilding its present capital.

"Much remains to be done, and an endeavour must be authorised together with the central government if Iraq wants to benefit from its enormous potential as a Mecca of tourism," said Anna Prouse, an Italian diplomat in charge of a regional rebuilding team in the Iraqi province of Dhi Qar.

In addition to Ur, the province has 47 other sites "of great archaeological value," she added.

The provincial authorities do not have the budget to start titanic archaeological excavations because they are focusing on restoring electricity, sewerage systems, schools, roads, and drinking water for their war-ravaged population, Prouse said.

From AFP