Ten years on from the invasion of Iraq, unregulated development is the biggest threat to Iraqi heritage, according to experts.
Peter Stone, professor of heritage studies at Newcastle University and archaeological adviser to the Ministry of Defence prior to the 2003 war, said that although looting of heritage sites was still an issue, unregulated development, often funded from overseas, was now the biggest threat to Iraqi heritage.
Lamia Al-Gailani, a research associate at the University of London and a former curator of the National Museum of Iraq, said there was a “constant struggle” between the department of antiquities and heritage and other government departments and developers.
“[Only last year] the ministry of oil was going to enlarge a pipeline through Babylon, but the department of antiquities stopped it,” she said.
“A big challenge is religious foundations with property that want to build more shops for more revenue.
“And there is a problem with individuals who have houses on heritage sites deliberately burning them, or demolishing them without permission, so that the site can be built on.”
The National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad is yet to reopen, with about 11,000 of the estimated 15,000 objects looted from the museum in 2003 still missing. Last year, about 400 brick fragments from Babylon’s Ishtar Gate, dating from 575BC, were stolen from a storeroom at the Nebuchadnezzar Museum.
Meanwhile, Basra Museum, which was due to open last year, has secured the £5m needed to complete the refurbishment of its Lakeside Palace venue. The building now has water and electricity and the exhibition cases are on order. It is hoped it will open in early 2014.
Peter Stone has devised a four-tier approach to protecting cultural property in the event of an armed conflict:
Peter Stone, professor of heritage studies at Newcastle University and archaeological adviser to the Ministry of Defence prior to the 2003 war, said that although looting of heritage sites was still an issue, unregulated development, often funded from overseas, was now the biggest threat to Iraqi heritage.
Lamia Al-Gailani, a research associate at the University of London and a former curator of the National Museum of Iraq, said there was a “constant struggle” between the department of antiquities and heritage and other government departments and developers.
“[Only last year] the ministry of oil was going to enlarge a pipeline through Babylon, but the department of antiquities stopped it,” she said.
“A big challenge is religious foundations with property that want to build more shops for more revenue.
“And there is a problem with individuals who have houses on heritage sites deliberately burning them, or demolishing them without permission, so that the site can be built on.”
The National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad is yet to reopen, with about 11,000 of the estimated 15,000 objects looted from the museum in 2003 still missing. Last year, about 400 brick fragments from Babylon’s Ishtar Gate, dating from 575BC, were stolen from a storeroom at the Nebuchadnezzar Museum.
Meanwhile, Basra Museum, which was due to open last year, has secured the £5m needed to complete the refurbishment of its Lakeside Palace venue. The building now has water and electricity and the exhibition cases are on order. It is hoped it will open in early 2014.
Saving cultural property
Peter Stone has devised a four-tier approach to protecting cultural property in the event of an armed conflict:
- Value of cultural property protection embedded into all levels of military training.
- Specific training on the host country’s heritage prior to deployment.
- Liaison with an individual tasked with cultural property protection during conflict.
- Post-conflict stabilisation.
