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Conservat ion
TheGettyConservationInstitut
eNewsletter
nVolume20,Number32005
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TheJ.PaulGettyTrust
BarryMunitz President and Chie Executive Ofcer
TheGettyConservationInstitute
TimothyP.Whalen Director
JeanneMarieTeutonico Associate Director, Programs
KathleenGaines Assistant Director, Administration
KristinKelly Assistant Director, Dissemination and Research Resources
GiacomoChiari Chie Scientist
FranoisLeBlanc Head o Field Projects
Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter
JeffreyLevin Editor
AngelaEscobar Assistant Editor
JoeMolloy Graphic Designer
ColorWestLithographyInc. Lithography
The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) works internationally to advance
the feld o conservation through scientifc research, feld projects,
education and training, and the dissemination o inormation in
various media. In its programs, the GCI ocuses on the creation and
delivery o knowledge that will beneft the proessionals and organiza-
tions responsible or the conservation o the visual arts.
The GCI is a program o the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural
and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that also
includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty R esearch Institute, and
the Getty Foundation.
Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter,
is distributed ree o charge three times per year, to proessionals
in conservation and related felds and to members o the public
concerned about conservation. Back issues o the newsletter,
as well as additional inormation regarding the activities o the GCI,
can be ound in the Conservation section o the Gettys Web site.
www.getty.edu
The Getty Conservation Institute
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1684 USATel 310 440 7325
Fax 310 440 7702
2005J.PaulGettyTrust
The GettyConservationInstituteNewsletter
Volume 20, Number 3 2005
Front cover:ParticipantsintheICCROM-GCI2005advancedcourseindocumentation,heldinRome.Thisfour-weekcourseformidcareerprofessionalsandeducatorsaddressedtheneeds,methodology,andtechniquesforacquiringandusingrecords,inventories,andinformationmanagementtoolsfortheconservationofculturalheritage.Photo:AlejandroAlva/CourtesyofICCROM.
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T
Protecting Iraqs Sites
and Monuments SupportforaNationsKeepers
ofCulturalHeritage
By Neville Agnew and Gaetano Palumbo
The archaeological record found in Iraq is one o the
most important, complex, and hitherto complete repositories in the
world, stretching back into deep antiquity. A number o the worlds
early civilizations arose in this land, once known as Mesopotamia,
and the remains o those and o later human settlements cover the
landscape.
That heritage is at risk. Donny George, current chairman o
Iraqs State Board o Antiquities and Heritage (sbah), stated in
Newsweek in March 2005 that there are around eleven thousand reg-
istered sites in the country and that many thousands o objects were
removed rom those sites between1991 and 2005 (but especially
ater the war o March 2003), without any possibility o their being
recorded or o anyones knowing what was illegally exported. For-
mer Coalition Provisional Authority oYcial John Russell, writing
in 2005 inArchitectural Record, estimated that some 400,000 to
600,000 cultural artiacts have been removed rom these sites since
spring 2003.
It is sae to assume that many previously unknown or unex-
plored sites are being looted as well. Destruction o these sites
through thet eliminates the archaeological record, making it impos-
sible to know what inormation and knowledge o early civilizationshas been lost. While items stolen rom museums can be identifed
thanks to existing records and documentation shared with organiza-
tions such as Interpol and icomthose taken illicitly rom sites
have no record and are degraded in cultural inormation. These
losses continue.
With so much attention naturally ocused on the continuing
tragedy o violence in Iraq, it is easy to orget that preceding the
wars o1991 and 2003 was the drawn out Iran-Iraq War (1980
1988). Throughout all o these events, sbah unctioned heroically
N
i
C
i
TemplefacadeattheancientsiteofUmma(TellJokha)insouthernIraq,destroyedbylooterslookingforinscribedbricks.Sincespring2003,hundredsofthousandsofculturalartifactshavebeenremovedfromarchaeologicalsitesthroughoutIraq.Photo:JoanneFarchakh-Bajjaly.
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but with ever-diminishing unding and staYng and, in many cases,
without the ability to assess damage to sites or to implement protec-
tive measures. With regard to preserving cultural heritage in Iraq,
one o the great needs is to rebuild the sbahs proessional capacity,
which has been depleted by years o isolation and war.
Graphic images o the looted Iraq Museum in Baghdad
prompted the international community to provide support andexpertise to the Iraqi authorities, including the sbah. unesco acted
quickly ater the outbreak o hostilities to convene meetings and to
draw up an international coordinating committee or Iraq. While
recognizing that protection and rehabilitation are long-term pro-
cesses in the best o circumstances, since April 2003, unesco has
endeavored to assess conditions and to develop an overall strategy to
protect Iraqs cultural heritage. The unesco report on the inspection
o sites in Iraq, undertaken in May 2003 under the direction o
Mounir Bouchenaki, identifed our types o damage to archaeologi-
cal sites as a result o wars, sanctions, and the collapse o inrastruc-ture: looting, military bases, accelerated decay, and questionable
reconstruction methods at sites such as Babylon in the 1980s.
The GCI-WMF Initiative
The Getty Conservation Institute, in conjunction with the World
Monuments Fund (wmf), decided to develop a major initiative to
help rebuild the proessional expertise and heritage inrastructure
in Iraq. The gci-wmf Iraq Cultural Heritage Conservation
Initiative is the frst time that the two organizations have ormallyworked together.
Ater examining the urgent needs in Iraq and how to best use
the two organizations resourcesand considering their in-house
staVexpertisethe gci and wmf opted or an eVort ocused on
immovable heritage: archaeological sites and monuments. Because
o the continuing security concerns and the impossibility o inter-
vening directly in sites and monuments in Iraq, the decision was
made to assist the sbah in rebuilding its proessional capacity and to
help the organization procure technical equipment. The gci-wmf
initiative is designed to aid in that rebuilding process by providing
training in tools and methodologies that can aid in archaeological
site documentation, site assessment, and site management.
One important aspect o rebuilding sbahs proessional capac-
ity is the development o a national database o heritage sites in Iraq.
The gci and wmf are working with the sbah on the creation o the
Iraq Cultural Heritage Sites Geographic Inormation System (gis)
Database, currently in development through an agreement with
Arizona State University. The bilingual Arabic and English gis
database (scheduled or installation in Baghdad in 2006) will be a
signifcant cultural resource management tool. When ully devel-
Above:DonnyGeorge(center),chairmanofIraqsStateBoardofAntiquitiesandHeritage(SBAH),alongwithBurhanShakir(right),directorgeneralofexcavationsatSBAH,andIhsanFethi(left),deanoftheFacultyofArtsatAmmanUniversity,atameetingatUNESCOtodiscussplansforthefall2005trainingcourseoftheGCI-WMFIraqCulturalHeritageConservationInitiative.Photo:MarioSantanaQuintero/GCI-WMFIraqCulturalHeritageConservationInitiative.Right:Atthefall2005trainingcourseinAmman,Jordan,instructorsandSBAH
participantsdiscussformstobeusedfortherapidassessmentofculturalheritagesitesinIraq.DatafromtheformswillbecompiledintheIraqCulturalHeritageSitesGISDatabase.Photo:RandEppich.
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oped, it will provide a national inventory o Iraqi archaeological sites
and monuments. With the database, sbah authorities will be able to
monitor development activities in areas o potential impact and to
coordinate measures with other governmental agencies to reduce
threats to the integrity o sites and buildings. This tool will also pro-
vide the sbah with the capability to conduct various database que-
ries, as well as a number o geographic analysis unctions.
The initiatives frst major training program or sbah staVwas
conducted in Amman, Jordan (see Conservation, vol. 20, no. 1), in
late 2004. This one-month program or sixteen sbah participants
ocused on acquiring a methodology or the rapid assessment o
archaeological sites and historic buildings and the use o the Iraq
Cultural Heritage Sites gis Database. The rapid site assessment
methodology taught to sbah oYcials will yield critical inormation
on the current status and condition o sites and monuments in the
atermath o war and continued looting. The course also provided
training in the use o documentation recording equipment (some
o which was purchased or the sbah by unesco), including GlobalPositioning System (gps) units, total survey stations, digital cam-
eras, and laser distance meters.
During the frst hal o2005, the gci-wmf initiative held three
short-term training activities or sbah personnel. These included a
one-week gps course in April in Amman, a two-week program on
the rapid assessment methodology and recording tools or sbah per-
sonnel rom Babylon, held at the British Museum (with support
rom unesco and the involvement o University College London),
and a ten-day metric survey course in June in Amman, taught by
specialists rom English Heritage and Leica Geosystems.In August and September 2005, the gci-wmf initiative
conducted an additional monthlong training program in Jordan or
twenty-one sbah personnel, including the directors o the sbah
oYces rom the governorates o Babylon, Basra, Kirkuk, and
Nineveh. The course included modules on the rapid site assessment
methodology and the use o site recording tools; it also ocused
on site condition assessment and recording, international heritage
conventions, charters and organizations, and site management
planning.
In addition to this training, since all 2004, the gci-wmf initia-tive has been supporting English-language classes in Iraq or sbah
personnel who are participating in the initiatives courses.
The training activities have been conducted with sbah staV
with various proessional backgrounds rom most regions o the
countrywho have displayed an eagerness or inormation on
equipment and techniques to which they have not previously had
access. And as oten happens in these kinds o circumstances, teach-
ing has not been one sided. sbah staVhave had much to share with
their instructors. At the same time, in the process o identiying
needs, preparing course contents, and fne-tuning the database, the
assistance osbah directorsrom its chairman to the directors o
the excavation, conservation, and architectural heritage sections
has been essential to the programs success.
The support o the organizations and individuals joining with
the gci-wmf initiative has also been considerable (see sidebar).
Among them are the Jordanian Department o Antiquities. When
its director general, Fawwaz al-Khraysheh, was asked whether the
resources o the department could be used to support the training
initiatives, his reply was, We must help our Iraqi brothers. Not
only have acilities been made available but there have also been gen-
erous contributions rom Jordan in staV, lectures, logistical support,
and access to sites as training venues.
While it would be desirable to conduct training initiatives in
Baghdad or elsewhere in Iraq, the security situation remains danger-
ous. With easy access to Amman and with good acilities available at
the American Center o Oriental Research, the training has been
TrainingcourseparticipantsassessconditionsattheBronzeandIronAgearchaeologicalsiteofTallAl-Umayri,Jordan.Photo:DavidMyers.
AcourseparticipantfromtheSBAHpracticesusingaglobalpositioningsystemunitduringthetrainingcourse.Photo:RandEppich.
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eYcient and eVective and is ully backed by sbahs chairman DonnyGeorge and his staV. The initiative is also ortunate in having the
participation o several expatriate Iraqi proessionals who are work-
ing closely with gci-wmf staVand consultants.
Priorities in Iraq
The seriousness o conditions in Iraq prompted the World
Monuments Fund, or the frst time, to put an entire country on
its biannual list o the One Hundred Most Endangered Sites.
In Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report for2004/2005 on
Monuments and Sites in Danger, Ihsan Fethione o the instructors
with the gci-wmf initiativewrote that the scale o the loss and
destruction o Iraqi cultural heritage has been incomprehensibly
large, and that most o it could have been avoided.
Fethi gives priority to a number o measures, including:
new policies and strategies with an integrated protective
system;
new physical planning policies and development plans or all
urban centers, towns, and villages, using gis techniques,
to ensure the conservation o the remaining historic abric;
promulgation o new and more stringent laws to halt urther
losses or encroachment;
preparation o a national register o cultural heritage,
including the designation o historic areas, areas o
outstanding natural beauty, and classifcation o all buildings
and monuments, according to their architectural or historic
interest; and
initiation o a national program or the protection and
restoration, and even reconstruction, o lost monuments.
This is an ambitious checklist, to which might be added arevision o university heritage planning and management curricula,
and the integration o archaeology, conservation, and management.
OYcials at the sbah, who have had the challenge o protecting a or-
midable cultural heritage under extreme and dangerous conditions,
share many o these concerns.
The gci-wmf initiative is an eVort to assist the Iraqi proes-
sionals who would carry out these measures. By helping these
proessionals identiy and address Iraqs archaeological and archi-
tectural site conservation needs and priorities and by providing
education, training, and capacity-building programs, the initiative
hopes that the sbah will ultimately have available the long-term tools
and proessional capabilities necessary to regain stewardship o
Iraq's archaeological and architectural sites. Other organizations,
including the Japanese and Italian cooperation agencies, the Islamic
Educational, Scientifc, and Cultural Organization (isesco), and the
Nordic World Heritage Foundation are also implementing assis-
tance and training courses, many o which are taking place in Jordan
with the help o Jordanian institutions.
There is still hope that the uture o Iraqs past can be secured.
At the moment, the urgent need remains to help Iraqi proessionals
and heritage oYcials to halt the continuing damage and hemorrhag-
ing o antiquities rom looted sites, and to assist them in rejoining
the international heritage community.
Neville Agnew is principal project specialist with GCI Field Projects.
Gaetano Palumbo is director o archaeological conservation with the World
Monuments Fund ofce in Paris.
Institutions
Supporting the
GCI-WMF Iraq
Cultural Heritage
Conservation
Initiative
unesco
funding for training and equipment
Jordanian Department o Antiquities
hosting and supporting coordinating
activities in Jordan; training support
American Center o Oriental Research
hosting and coordinating activities
in Jordan
English Heritage
training support
J. M. Kaplan Fund
funding general initiative activities
U.S. National Endowment or the Humanities
funding database development
U.S. National Park Service
training support
Environmental Systems Research Institute
software donations
20 Conservation, The GCI Newsletter l Volume 20, Number 32005l News in Conservation