Experts welcome Iraq heritage initiative
Sector backs funding of project to address Islamic State’s destruction of archaeological sites, but international cooperation remains challenging. By Gareth Harris
The UK government’s decision to fund a taskforce that will help deal with the aftermath of Islamic State’s destruction of archaeological sites in Iraq has been broadly welcomed by conservation experts. But the long-term challenges of rebuilding ancient temples and monuments, and whether UK agencies should be part of an international conservation effort, remains a contentious issue.
The British Museum (BM) is to train a group of Iraqi heritage professionals to deal with the aftermath of Islamic State’s destruction of archaeological sites such as Nineveh, Nimrud and Hatra.
The Iraqi Emergency Heritage Management project is funded by a £3m grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The museum intends to recruit two archaeologists with extensive field experience in the region. They will work over a five year period, leading a six month training programme that will run twice a year. Five professionals from Iraq’s heritage sector will be invited on each course, spending three months at the BM.
The archaeologists will return to Iraq with the trainees to put into practice the skills and techniques they have learned. The aim is to plan for the day when territory currently run by Islamic State is returned to governmental control.
“The scale of need in Iraq is tremendous, so the British Museum’s announcement is welcome news,” says a spokeswoman for the World Monuments Fund. She adds that the New York-based organisation will continue working with Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities.
Last year, Islamic State destroyed a series of historic mosques in Mosul, northern Alison Richmond, the chief executive of the Institute of Conservation (Icon), says museums and the government should be doing more to prepare for the aftermath of Islamic State, and urges the UK to join an international effort, coordinated by Unesco, to recover looted cultural heritage and reconstruct damaged monuments.
Unesco, which declined to comment on its current campaign to help rebuild sites in Iraq and Syria, is also backing the Iraqi Emergency Heritage Management project.
“I do not think we necessarily need an internationally coordinated effort,” says Bewley. “The Iraqi government and the Iraqi people are best placed to decide on what help they might need for the future preservation of their heritage.”
Meanwhile, the Association of Art Museum Directors is encouraging US museums and galleries to act as safe havens for threatened works of art in the collections of governments, museums and private individuals in conflict zones.
On the subject of whether UK museums should follow suit, Bewley says: “Museums in the UK have enough on their plate at the moment just trying to survive. However, if museums could, through their collections, highlight that the heritage of Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen is relevant to everybody, it would probably be a good way to show why we should assist in the protection of archaeological sites.”
The British Museum (BM) is to train a group of Iraqi heritage professionals to deal with the aftermath of Islamic State’s destruction of archaeological sites such as Nineveh, Nimrud and Hatra.
The Iraqi Emergency Heritage Management project is funded by a £3m grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The museum intends to recruit two archaeologists with extensive field experience in the region. They will work over a five year period, leading a six month training programme that will run twice a year. Five professionals from Iraq’s heritage sector will be invited on each course, spending three months at the BM.
The archaeologists will return to Iraq with the trainees to put into practice the skills and techniques they have learned. The aim is to plan for the day when territory currently run by Islamic State is returned to governmental control.
“The scale of need in Iraq is tremendous, so the British Museum’s announcement is welcome news,” says a spokeswoman for the World Monuments Fund. She adds that the New York-based organisation will continue working with Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities.
Last year, Islamic State destroyed a series of historic mosques in Mosul, northern Alison Richmond, the chief executive of the Institute of Conservation (Icon), says museums and the government should be doing more to prepare for the aftermath of Islamic State, and urges the UK to join an international effort, coordinated by Unesco, to recover looted cultural heritage and reconstruct damaged monuments.
Unesco, which declined to comment on its current campaign to help rebuild sites in Iraq and Syria, is also backing the Iraqi Emergency Heritage Management project.
“I do not think we necessarily need an internationally coordinated effort,” says Bewley. “The Iraqi government and the Iraqi people are best placed to decide on what help they might need for the future preservation of their heritage.”
Meanwhile, the Association of Art Museum Directors is encouraging US museums and galleries to act as safe havens for threatened works of art in the collections of governments, museums and private individuals in conflict zones.
On the subject of whether UK museums should follow suit, Bewley says: “Museums in the UK have enough on their plate at the moment just trying to survive. However, if museums could, through their collections, highlight that the heritage of Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen is relevant to everybody, it would probably be a good way to show why we should assist in the protection of archaeological sites.”