Heritage and cultural healing: Iraq in a post-Daesh era

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the destruction of Iraqi heritage over the past quarter of a century, this article critically reviews key aspects of the current state of Iraq's cultural heritage, including damage to heritage buildings caused by Daesh in Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. We bring together Iraqi and non-Iraqi expertise in heritage, archaeology, and human rights law to frame our approach, building on the movement to link cultural diversity, heritage, and cultural rights. We emphasise the need for planning to enhance protection of Iraq's heritage, in particular through the preparation of inventories, the provision of resources for heritage education in schools and the development of Iraq's museum sector. Iraq's presence on the UNESCO World Heritage Lists needs to be enhanced, and the issues of illicit site looting and traffic in looted antiquities must be addressed within international contexts. Iraq's future accession as State Party to the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention is a priority in achieving these goals. The paper stresses the need for co-creation of heritage knowledge and a gender-sensitive human rights approach for the future of Iraq's globally significant cultural heritage.

Embedding the remote sensing monitoring of archaeological site damage at the local level: Results from the “Archaeological practice and heritage protection in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq” project

“…The project made concerted efforts not only to link the remote sensing and on the ground monitoring activities, but also to ensure that this linked approach was embedded within and managed by local archaeologists, agencies, and institutions with first-hand knowledge of archaeological sites and how best to manage their protection. In doing so, the project has taken practical steps toward the decolonisation and fulfilment of ethical obligations in cultural heritage management that have been advocated by archaeologists across the globe (e.g., [ 9 , 10 , 33 – 35 ]), and which still represents a particularly urgent endeavour for the Middle East [ 6 ].…”

“…Yet, the majority of remote sensing-based archaeological monitoring projects for Western Asia are primarily led, carried out, and publicised by researchers based in Europe and North America (e.g., [ 3 – 5 ]). However, the sustainable and ethical management of cultural heritage requires the integration of local knowledge, expertise, and leadership at all levels [ 6 – 8 ], including the use and analysis of advanced geospatial data [ 9 , 10 ]. The project Archaeological Practice and Heritage Protection in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ( https://culturalheritageprotection.org ) addressed the urgent need for the development of not only Iraqi experts in archaeological site monitoring and damage assessment, but also the necessity of embedding this work within existing, in-country institutions at local and regional levels that are tasked with the protection and management of cultural heritage [ 11 ].…”

La significación social del patrimonio: Análisis sobre la percepción del patrimonio en la Comunidad de Madrid

“…Existen investigaciones que tienen como principal finalidad conocer la significación social del patrimonio para un determinado grupo social (Cepeda y Fontal, 2019;Llull, 2005;Morate, 2007;Matthews et al, 2019). En este sentido también encontramos conexiones con investigaciones que argumentan la necesidad de evaluar los resultados de esos programas educativos.…”

Monitoring of Critical Infrastructures by Micromotion Estimation: The Mosul Dam Destabilization

“…The relevance of the current state of Iraq within the worldwide cultural heritage is demonstrated by the inclusion of six sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List (Ashur, Babylon, Erbil Citadel, Hatra, Samarra, as shown in Figure 1), and of other eleven sites on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Another important initiative to be mentioned is the UNESCO-led project "Revive the Spirit of Mosul", underpinned by the February 2018 International Conference on the Reconstruction of Iraq, held in Kuwait City [3]. All this highlights the international attention on the several archaeological sites located in Iraq, with many of them located in the neighborhood of the Mosul dam.…”