Roles Played By Antiquities During The Iraq And Syrian Civil Wars

The Iraqi and Syrian civil wars began in 2014 and 2011 with the advance of jihadist militants groups through Syria and Iraq, who, in conveying their ideology and agendas within both countries, have destroyed important cultural heritage sites and collection. This essay will look at the roles played by antiquities in war zones, looking at specific examples from Syria and Iraq, and the responsibilities of archaeologists in these situations.

During the Iraqi and Syrian civil wars, many important cultural heritage sites and collections have been destroyed the IS and other Jihadist militant groups working within both countries. The destruction of these key pieces of Syrian and Iraqi heritage are results of combat damage, looting, and the intentional

It is estimated that jihadist groups, such as Islamic state, raise around $100million annually from looting and trafficking of antiquities on the illicit market (Lane, 2015). Many collectors and collecting institutes believe that buying antiquities on sale from Syria and Iraq will save them from being destroyed during the conflict (Bauer, 2015); however buying stolen antiquities from Syria and Iraq only proves to indirectly fund the destructive activities of these militant groups. A July 2014 report states that IS was able to raise around $36million from selling antiquities from a single archaeological site (Bauer, 2015)

Theft, looting and destruction of important cultural heritage sites play key roles in the aims of the Jihadist militants in conveying radical ideology and the funding of destructive activities. Between July 2014 and April 2015, there have been at least 58 bombings of heritage sites within Syria, including the Ancient city of Aleppo in Syria, which has reportedly been bombed six times over a 90-day period (Danti,

Within the museum on display are Roman and Byzantine mosaics, created from the 3rd to 6th centuries AD. These mosaics encased in the floors and walls of the building and, therefore, cannot be moved. In 2011, the Ma’arra museum was damaged during the conflict, during which some of the smaller antiquities were damaged. In 2014 conservation work began to preserve the mosaics surviving within the museum. Heritage professionals working within Syria began filling in holes and restoring archways caused by the conflict. The larger mosaics were first cleaned before being coated in water soluble glue to preserve the artwork (Quntar et al, 2015). The water soluble glue can easily be removed thus preventing any long term damage to the mosaics. In order to prevent further damage, professionals piled sandbags in front the mosaics to protect them from shrapnel and other blast damage. The use of these protective measures allowed many of the mosaics to survive another bombing in