Antiquities under Siege: Cultural Heritage Protection after the Iraq War

by Lawrence Rothfield (Editor), John B. Alexander (Contribution by), J Holmes Armstead Jr. (Contribution by), Matthew Bogdanos (Contribution by), Mounir Bouchenaki (Contribution by)

Overview

As Saddam Hussein's government fell in April 2003, news accounts detailed the pillage of Iraq's National Museum. The museum's looting grabbed headlines worldwide and public attention briefly focused on Iraq's threatened cultural heritage. Less dramatic, though far more devastating, was the subsequent epidemic of looting at thousands of archaeological sites around the country. Illegal digging on a massive scale continues to this day, virtually unchecked, with Iraq's ten thousand officially recognized sites being destroyed at a rate of roughly 10 percent per year.

This book contains the first full published account of the disasters that have befallen Iraq's cultural heritage, and it analyzes why the array of laws and international conventions; the advocacy efforts of cultural heritage organizations; and the military planning and implementation of cultural protection operations all failed, and continue to fail, to prevent massive and irreversible loss. Looking forward, the book identifies new planning procedures, policy mechanisms, and implementation strategies capable of succeeding, so the mistakes of Iraq will not be replicated in other regions in crisis whose cultural heritage are at risk. Both archaeologists and policy-makers will benefit from this detailed study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759110984
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	03/27/2008
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	6.57(w) x 9.64(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

Lawrence Rothfield is faculty director and co-founder of the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago. He was previously the director of the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities at the University of Chicago and is also a professor of comparative literature, in which field he has three publications.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Part I. The Case of Iraq and the Context of Looting
Chapter 2 Chapter 1. Preserving Iraq's Heritage from Looting: What Went Wrong (within the United States)
Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Preparations at the Iraq Museum in the Lead-Up to War
Chapter 4 Chapter 3. Thieves of Baghdad: The Looting of the Iraq Museum
Chapter 5 Chapter 4. Who Are the Looters at Archaeological Sites in Iraq?
Chapter 6 Chapter 5. See No Evil: Museums, Art Collectors, and the Black Markets They Adore
Chapter 7 Chapter 6. The Western Market in Iraqi Antiques
Part 8 Part II. Preventing Future Looting after Armed Combat
Chapter 9 The Way Forward for Legislative Bodies with Respect to International Law
Chapter 10 Chapter 7. The 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict: Its Background and Prospects for Ratification in the United States
Chapter 11 Chapter 8. The Implementation of International Treaties at the National Level: Law and Practice
Chapter 12 The Way Forward for Legislative Bodies and Military Commanders: Beyond Implementing International Law
Chapter 13 Chapter 9. Congressional Responses to the Looting of Iraq's Cultural Property
Chapter 14 Chapter 10. The Chain of Command
Chapter 15 The Way Forward for Military and Civilian War Planners
Chapter 16 Chapter 11. Bridging the Public Security Gap: Stability Police Units in Contemporary Peace Operations and the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units
Chapter 17 Chapter 12. Italian Carabinieri and the Protection of Iraq's Cultural Heritage
Chapter 18 Chapter 13. Technology for the Prevention of Cultural Theft
Chapter 19 The Way Forward for Postwar Reconstruction Planners
Chapter 20 Chapter 14. The Way Ahead: A Five-Point Plan for Future Action
Chapter 21 Chapter 15. Assignment Blue Shield: The Looting of the Iraq Museum and Cultural Property at War
Chapter 22 Chapter 16. The Role of NATO and Civil Military Affairs
Chapter 23 The Way Forward for Government and Intergovernmental Agencies
Chapter 24 Chapter 17. Practical and Policy Considerations in Protecting Cultural Heritage and Preventing Looting during International Peace and Stability Operations
Chapter 25 Chapter 18. UNESCO and the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Postconflict Situations: Efforts at UNESCO to Establish an Intergovernmental Fund for the Protection of Cultural Property in Times of Conflict
Chapter 26 Chapter 19. Engaging Interagency Processes to Protect Cultural Sites: Communities, Authorities, and Capabilities
Chapter 27 The Way Forward for Cultural Ministries, Departments, and Agencies
Chapter 28 Chapter 20. Governmental Agencies and the Protection of Cultural Property in Times of War
Chapter 29 Chapter 21. What Cultural Ministries and Heritage Sites Should Do to Prepare for Conflict
Chapter 30 The Way Forward for Cultural Heritage NG's
Chapter 31 Chapter 22. Preventing Looting after Armed Combat: The Way Forward for U.S. Nongovernmental Cultural Organizations

Editorial Reviews

Antiquities Under Siege: Cultural Heritage Protection After the Iraq War is a thorough account of the events and circumstances surrounding the looting of Iraqu's National Museum in April 2003 following the Iraq War....An objective account.

Muse - Katie Urban

Antiquities under Siege goes a very long way in shortening the learning curve for those for whom CPP, by choice or appointment, is a subject that has or is about to become very important in their daily work. .. The true added value of this collection of well-researched and well-presented articles is that it shows the extremely complex nature of cultural property protection, its points of contact with matters cultural, legal, social, societal, economic, etc., and demonstrates how important it is for military organisations and the governments that direct them to take Cultural Property Protection seriously in their planning and in their operations.

December 2009 Militaire Spectator

Antiquities under Siege goes a very long way in shortening the learning curve for those for whom CPP, by choice or appointment, is a subject that has or is about to become very important in their daily work. .. The true added value of this collection of well-researched and well-presented articles is that it shows the extremely complex nature of cultural property protection, its points of contact with matters cultural, legal, social, societal, economic, etc., and demonstrates how important it is for military organisations and the governments that direct them to take Cultural Property Protection seriously in their planning and in their operations.

Militaire Spectator

With detailed footnotes; appendices providing excerpts from international conventions and doctrines, working meeting recommendations, and technical information; and a substantial index, the volume is an extremely complete and useful reference.. .. The authors' recommendations are sound and based on first-hand experience.

Museum Anthropology

Recommended.. .. Most levels/libraries.

Choice Reviews

With detailed footnotes; appendices providing excerpts from international conventions and doctrines, working meeting recommendations, and technical information; and a substantial index, the volume is an extremely complete and useful reference.. .. The authors' recommendations are sound and based on first-hand experience.

Spring 2010 Museum Anthropology

Recommended.. .. Most levels/libraries.

November 2008 Choice Reviews

Recommended.. .. Most levels/libraries.

November 2008 Choice

Recommended.. .. Most levels/libraries.

November 2008 CHOICE