Heritage in Peril Iraq and Syria

T he damage and looting of historic sites in Iraq and Syria are rapidly destroy-

ing all evidence of ancient life and society. Fragile sites and buildings have suffered as collateral damage to battles, targets for purposeful ideological destruction, and prey for systematic looting. More than 90 percent of Syria’s cultural sites are inside areas of conflict and displacement. Further damage to these countries’ trea-sures increases the loss of their common heritage and cultural leg-acies of universal importance.

As the international community responds to the wanton destruc-tion perpetrated by extremists in Iraq and Syria, we also recognize that preserving these countries’ cultural heritage is a critical step toward reconstruction, reconcilia-tion, and building civil society. In Iraq, the United States govern-ment has provided nearly $33 mil-lion since 2003 for a broad range of cultural heritage projects, includ-ing infrastructure upgrades to the Iraq National Museum, establish-ment of a cultural heritage preser-

vation training institute in Erbil, and site management planning and conservation work at the site of ancient Babylon. The U.S. Depart-ment of State also partnered with international organizations to de-velop the Emergency Red List of Iraqi Antiquities at Risk to enable customs officials to identify and detain objects from Iraq that are particularly at risk of looting, theft, and illicit trafficking.

Embassy of the United States of America

Above: In Raqqa, Syria, a colossal ancient Assyrian lion sculpture dating to the eighth

century BC was purposely smashed by extremists using a bulldozer. Photo: John Russell

In Syria, the U.S. Department of State sponsored publication of the Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk to alert international customs authorities to the illicit trafficking of Syrian artifacts. It also produced a map featuring 1,000 important museums, historic buildings, and archaeolog-ical sites to raise awareness of threats to Syrian cultural heritage.The Department recently partnered with the American Schools of Orient Research to comprehen-sively document the condition of, and threats to, cultural heritage

sites in Syria and assess their future restoration, preservation, and protection needs. This project is now being expanded to document

threats to sites in Iraq as well. Findings are posted weekly at: http://www.asor-syrianheritage.org/. The U.S. State Department is urging all parties in Iraq, Syria, and the international community to respect and protect archaeolog-ical, historic, religious, and cultural sites, including museums and archives. All those who destroy important cultural property must be held accountable.

The map above shows cultural heritage sites that are at risk in Syria.

September 2014

Heritage in Peril: Iraq and Syria

U N I T E D S TA T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S TA T EB U R E A U O F I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N P R O G R A M S

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x 2x 13x 5x 10

x 9x 2

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x 60x 3x 2x 20x 10

x 7x 14x 19x 75

x 1x 8x 2

x 2x 5

x 3x 1x 1

x 5x 5x 2x 2x 1x 1

x 5x 1x 2

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x 1x 1

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x 1x 6

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x 60x 16x 2x 37x 5

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x 38 x 5x 56x 49x 11

x 26x 42x 11x 11

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Euphrates

Euphrates

Nah

r a l

Kha

bur

Oro

nte

s

MediterraneanSea

Jord

an

L i tani

L i ta ni

Hasbani

Homs

Hamah

Dar`a

Aleppo

Latakia

Ar Raqqah

Tartus

As Suwayda'

Al Qunaytirah

Amrit

Ma’arratan Nu’man

Shahba

Bosra

Beirut

Damascus

Dura Europos

Palmyra

Apamea

BaraBara

The Dead Cities

Cyrrhus

Qanawat

Banias

Ugarit

I R A Q

T U R K E Y

J O R D A N

CYPRUS

LEBANON

ISRAEL

West Bank*

Buhayrat al AsadBuhayrat al Asad

LakeTiberias

LakeTiberias

* Israeli-occupied with current status subject to Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement; permanent status to be determined through further negotiations.

GolanHeights(Israeli

occupied)

GolanHeights(Israeli

occupied)

1949 ArmisticeLine

1949 ArmisticeLine

1949 ArmisticeLine

1949 ArmisticeLine

1994TreatyLine

1994TreatyLine

UNDOFZone

UNDOFZone

Resafa

0 30 60 km

0 30 60 mi

Well-preserved Syrian Cultural Heritage Sites

^ National capital

Selected populated place

Selected cultural site

Area of con�ict &displacementApproximate area of the Dead Cities

6 Syrian properties inscribed on UNESCO’s

World Heritage List

5 Appeals from UNESCO concerning Aleppo

35,525 Manuscripts in library collections

(Source: World Guide to Libraries, 2013)

Over 77,000 cultural objects in the National Museum of Damascus alone

(Source: Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums)

The Dead Cities are roughly 700 abandoned towns, monasteries, and farmsteads from the Roman and Byzantine Periods (1st-8th centuries AD) spread over limestone hills. They constitute a unique cultural landscape.

Ancient cityArchaeological siteCivic siteCommercial siteEducational siteForti�cationFunerary siteMixed ancient &modern siteMuseumReligious siteResidential siteTotal well-preserved sites

Inside area of con�ictand displacement

8362

13210764938441

2625645993

Outside area of con�ict and displacement

17115----16--2

212570

Total

10073

13710764

1098443

2826850

1,063

Ancient cityArchaeological siteCivic siteCommercial siteEducational siteForti�cation

Funerary site

Museum

Residential siteReligious site

Mixed ancient &modern site

7% of Syria’s cultural sites remain outsideareas of con�ict and displacement

93% of Syria’s culturalsites are inside areas of

con�ict and displacement

93% of Syria’s culturalsites are inside areas of

con�ict and displacement

Names and boundary representation are not necessarily authoritative U899 9-13 STATE (INR)

D

EPARTMENT OF STATE

BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RES

EARC

H

INRSyria: Cultural Heritage Sites at Risk

HUMANITARIAN INFORMATION UNIT

hiu_info@state.govhttp://hiu.state.gov

U.S. Department of State

Left: Mashhad Imam Yahya Ibn al-Qasim, located in Mosul, Iraq, was built in 1239 by Badr

al-Din Lu’lu’, the ruler of Mosul who supported the Shi’i belief. Photo: © Yasser Tabaa