ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives (CHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria and Iraq 1 Monthly Report (original) (raw)
Related papers
2017
• DigitalGlobe satellite imagery shows destruction of the Abbasid Palaces in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate with heavy machinery. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0094 • Reported SARG and Russian airstrikes damaged Abu Bakr al-Sadeiq Mosque in al-Jwaim, Aleppo Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0095 • Reported SARG airstrikes damaged Abu Bakr al-Sadeiq Mosque in Theiban, Deir ez-Zor Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0096 • Photographs show the use of archaeological remains as a source for building materials and the construction of modern buildings on archaeological sites in Jabal al-Zawia, Idlib Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0097 • Reported US-led Coalition airstrikes landed in the vicinity of the Raqqa Museum in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0098 • A photograph shows heavy damage to the Tabqah Cultural Center in al-Tabqah, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0099 • A car bomb damaged Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq Mosque in ar-Rastan, Homs Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0100 • Reported US-led Coalition airstrike damaged al-Subaiha Mosque in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0101 • SARG helicopters damaged al-Omari Mosque in Daraa, Daraa Governorate with incendiary barrel bombs. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0102 • Reported SARG airstrike hit the Western Mosque (al-Kabir Mosque) in Jadeed Ekidat, Deir ez-Zor Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0103 • Ongoing aerial bombardment has damaged al-Nur Mosque in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0104 • Reported US-led Coalition airstrike damaged Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque in Mehaimda, Deir ez-Zor Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0105 • Satellite imagery revealed damage to Heraqla in Raqqa Governorate, concurrent with its recapture from ISIL by the SDF. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0106 • Satellite imagery revealed unreported damage to an unnamed mosque in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0107 • An unnamed mosque in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate was damaged by possible airstrikes or shelling. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0108 • The Syrian Democratic Forces have reached the Old Walls of Raqqa and Bab Baghdad in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0109 • Residents in Raqqa are reportedly using the courtyard near the al-Qadim Mosque in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate as a cemetery. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0110 • Residents of Raqqa are reportedly using the site of Qasr al-Banat in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate as a cemetery. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0111 • Islamic factions are firing on YPG forces from Qala'at Simeon in Idlib Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0112 • Reported SARG airstrike damaged al-Shohada Mosque in Deir ez-Zor, Deir ez-Zor Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0113 • Reported SDF shelling damaged the minaret of al-Kabir Mosque in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0114 • An explosion damaged al-Omari Mosque in Idlib, Idlib Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0115 • There was an attempt to steal the Luwian inscription from the al-Qiqan Mosque in Aleppo, Aleppo Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0116 • SARG forces recaptured Resafa in Raqqa Governorate from ISIL control. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0117 • SARG bombardment damaged ar-Rahman Mosque in al-Naimah, Daraa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0118 • US-led Coalition airstrike destroyed Zubair bin Awam Mosque in Kasrat al-Faraj, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0119 • SARG airstrikes damaged Harweil Mosque in Deir ez-Zor, Deir ez-Zor Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0120 • US-led Coalition airstrike damaged al-Hinni Mosque in Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 17-0121 • New photographs show damage to Mariam al-Azra Church on January 29, 2017 in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0038 • Caches of artifacts were discovered in houses in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0039 • The Mar Ephraim Church in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate was repurposed as a prison for Yezidi women and girls. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0040 • Reported US-led Coalition airstrike damaged al-Taqwa Mosque in Tal Afar, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0041 • Mosul museum, in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate, was damaged in recapture of neighborhood. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0042 • Explosion occurred inside of Behesht Mosque in Sulaymaniya, Sulaymaniya Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0043 • Newly released video shows the condition of al-Imam Mushin Mosque in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0044 • ISIL intentional destruction of Al-Nuri al-Kabir Mosque in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0045 • Newly released video footage shows damage to Church of Sham'oon al-Safa in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0046 • Newly published video shows damage to Church Mar Thom in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0047 • Newly released photographs show condition of al-Zewani Mosque in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0048 • Iraqi Security Forces liberated the Meskanta Church in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0049 • Newly released footage shows condition of the Church of the Virgin Mary Chaldaeans in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate. ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 17-0050 • Satellite imagery and news reports confirm damage to Souq al-Hout in Benghazi, Cyrenaica. ASOR CHI Incident Report LHI 17-0005 • Ottoman hilltop fortification of Derna, Cyrenaica that had been reoccupied by ISIL was destroyed. ASOR CHI Incident Report LHI 17-0006
2018
Active since 2009, the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil, Iraq is a unique, global collaboration that trains Iraqi cultural heritage specialists in international-standard heritage conservation practice. In its earliest years, the Iraqi Institute partnered with American academic institutions to deliver long-form coursework in architectural conservation, collections conservation, and archaeological site preservation. The Institute has also hosted shorter courses offered by other nations and institutions, most notably the Italian Foreign Ministry and the World Monuments Fund. After the spread of ISIS into Iraq in 2014, the Iraqi Institute expanded its mission to include emergency preparedness and disaster response approaches. In 2015, several organizations partnered to deliver a short course in the safeguarding and recovery of heritage in conflict areas. Based on their role in that successful course, the Smithsonian Institution returned to the Ir...
in Bessenay-Prolonge J., Herr J.-J., Mura M. & (collab.) Havé A. (eds.), Archaeology of Conflict / Archaeology in Conflict - Documenting Destruction of Cultural Heritage in the Middle-East and Central Asia, Routes de l’Orient Actes II, Association Routes de l’Orient, Paris, p. 249–260, 2019
The paper gives a brief overview of the annihilation of Mosul‘s historical architecture, whether deliberately perpetrated by ISIS (Daesh) or caused by terrestrial combats and bombardment during the liberation of the city. The situation of the architectural heritage in the city is monitored, among others, by the Monuments of Mosul in Danger Project since 2014. In addition to the main results of the documentation part of the project, the paper also introduces more conceptual questions regarding the ideological context of the violence on monuments, an ex post analysis of destroyed sites and future outlooks of the local heritage management.
Mosul after Islamic State: The Quest for Lost Architectural Heritage
Palgrave Macmillan, 2021
The book examines the destruction of the architectural heritage in Mosul perpetrated by Islamic State between 2014 and 2017. It identifies which structures were attacked, the ideological rationale behind the destruction, and the significance of the lost monuments in the context of Mosul’s urban development and the architectural history of the Middle East. This methodologically innovative work fills an important gap in the study of both current radical movements and the medieval Islamic architecture of Northern Iraq.
The Destruction of Cultural Heritage Sites in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant
The atrocities to artifacts and cultural sites in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria, have been profound. This is a result of a new extreme version of iconoclasm propagated by the radical Islamic fundamentalist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. This paradigm in Islamic thought towards imagery transcends previous historical incidents of iconoclasm including times of previous wars. The ultimate goal of these wars was cultural cleansing. Tragically, thousands of years of heritage has been destroyed in less than a year. The global community must come together to protect, preserve, and raise awareness about the destruction by providing ways to teach communities and historical sites at risk how to preserve artifacts and create disaster plans that can be implemented in case of threats. By examining these issues, global citizens can come together to preserve these sites and artifacts from destruction and looting.
UNESCO s project to Revive the Spirit of Mosul.pdf
2019
Following the devastation of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul by the Islamic State (IS), UNESCO launched a project to ‘Revive the Spirit of Mosul’. This article critically reflects on this UNESCO-led project, drawing on 47 interviews with Syrians and Iraqis, as well as documenting the implications of UNESCO’s efforts in earlier (post-)conflict heritage reconstruction projects in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Mali. Specifically, this article focuses on two sites in Mosul, both deliberately destroyed by the IS and both nominated by UNESCO for reconstruction. The data analysed reveal that heritage reconstruction projects, especially in complex (post-) conflict environments such as Iraq, requires ongoing, nuanced and careful engagement with local populations to succeed. Failure to do so leaves both local people and their heritage sites vulnerable to renewed attacks and therefore ultimately undermines UNESCO’s broader mission to foster peace.