From J.N. Postgate (Cambridge) came this notice about a website that
compiles archaeological and historic sites deemed at risk.

         http://users.ox.ac.uk/~wolf0126/

> You will need to go there to connect these sites to the maps that are
> provided. Below is the Introduction:

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> Although in Iraq to date UNESCO has acknowledged only one World Heritage
> site (Hatra), this is perhaps because the whole country should be so
> designated. Iraq is often described as the cradle of civilization, and the
> country is thickly dotted with the remains of thousands of villages, towns
> and cities.
>
> In 1991 the hostilities affected a number of archaeological sites. Rocket
> or shell fire damaged the brickwork of the ziggurrat at Ur (constructed in
> 2100 BC and restored around 550 BC). American troops were probably also
> responsible for minor looting at the site of Ur itself. Cracks appeared in
> the arch at Ctesiphon (Taq Kisra, dating to the 5th century AD and until
> last century the largest single span vault in the world). Traditional
> houses on the citadel at Kerkuk were destroyed by bombing.
>
> In a ground confrontation the greatest danger to archaeological sites is
> posed by the fact that their mounds, which can be 30m high and extend over
> kilometres are often the only raised features on the southern alluvial
> plain, and therefore liable to be adopted by combatants for various
> purposes. With modern machinery an entire 6000 year old village can be
> recycled into a defensive earthwork in a day or two, and even
> old-fashioned trenches, which were much used in the last hostilities, can
> do irreparable damage to sites of paramount interest. Since the foreign
> troops did not significantly penetrate the inhabited sector of the
> southern Iraqi plain, the only example known to us is at Tell al-Lahm
> south of Ur, where extensive damage was done by American bulldozers.
> Another example of what can happen is provided by the ancient city of Der,
> modern Tell Aqar, which was converted into a military emplacement by the
> Iraqi army during the Iraq-Iran war. The trenching cut through the 4500
> year old main temple uncovering unique statues and completely destroying
> their architectural context.
>
> A further risk is that archaeological trenches may be mistaken from the
> air for military emplacements. We do not have documented instances of this
> happening in 1991, but again in the 1980's the excavated site of Godin
> Tepe in western Iran was attacked from the air causing considerable damage
> to the 5000 year old excavated remains.
>
> However, the chief potential casualty from modern explosives is standing
> architecture. One of the surviving ancient churches of Mosul (10th
> century) was partly destroyed in 1991. There are others equally old and at
> risk, not to mention a number of monasteries in the district some of which
> date back to the 4th Century AD. The minarets of the mediaeval mosques of
> Mosul and other cities are structurally very vulnerable, but entire
> mosques are of course at risk. Quite apart from the architectural and
> historical value of such structures, in Iraq the destruction of places of
> worship has been viewed with particular abhorrence since at least 2400 BC,
> and should be avoided with the utmost care.
>
> Iraq's few surviving old bridges must be imperilled, as must the few
> mediaeval and earlier forts, being self-evidently military structures.
> Unlike Egypt, Iraq does not have many standing monuments in stone, the
> principal example being the Parthian city of Hatra, but several ancient
> capital cities have been excavated with their palaces and temples
> uncovered, in Assyria with sculptured reliefs lining the walls (especially
> at Nineveh [Kouyunjik] and Nimrud).
>
> Last, but not least, there are the museums. In 1991 the portable contents
> of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad were transferred to another site, from where
> they have since been returned; we do not know if similar measures have
> been taken this time, although they have reportedly in Mosul. The
> destruction of the Iraq Museum would be an appalling loss to the world.
> The majority of all archaeological finds made in the country since its
> foundation in 1920 are stored there. As well as individual items of
> stunning beauty and importance from successive civilizations (Sumerian,
> Babylonian, Assyrian, Islamic), it shelters huge archives of cuneiform
> documents, many still unpublished, excavated by Iraqi and foreign
> expeditions: these include the earliest written archives in the world from
> Uruk, Sumerian literary texts from the schools of ancient Mesopotamia from
> 2500 down to 1600 BC, and the 4th century BC temple library of Sippar.
>
> There are also museums in most of the Governorates, stocked with
> representative but still extremely valuable exhibits selected from the
> central collections in Baghdad. In 1990-91 several of these were looted in
> the aftermath of the withdrawal from Kuwait. Chests of manuscripts were
> recovered scattered across a hillside near Kerkuk. Finds in the Dohuk
> Museum were ground underfoot, and extremely few of the 4000 lost pieces
> have been identified on the world's art markets. The contents of the
> Nasiriyyah Museum were rescued by the courageous action of its woman
> Director who defied looters at the front door while a lorry was loaded at
> the back. We cite these instances to illustrate the danger which attends
> the breakdown of law and order which can so easily result from military
> action.
>
> There follows a list of some of the principal historic buildings and
> archaeological sites which we deem to be most at risk in the event of
> armed incursion or aerial bombardment. Within site categories the lists
> are broadly arranged from NW to SE. The maps incorporate the work of Helen
> McDonald, but were prepared for a different purpose and do not show sites
> after the time of Alexander the Great. Latitude and longitude co-ordinates
> are taken from the Gazetteer of sites in M.D. Roaf, Cultural Atlas of
> Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, and should be taken as approximate.
>
> Clicking on the name of a site or monument in the list will take you to
> the relevant map; and doing the same on the map will take you back to the
> list. Or you can use the BACK button or key on your browser to return to
> this page. Alternatively you can view the maps by following the links at
> the bottom of this page.
> --
> Jan Picton
> Tel: 020 8940 3383
> Fax: 0870 164 1855