USCBS News

by Margaret Besheer

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, warns that world heritage sites in the West African country of Mali and in the Arab world are at risk of damage and theft as political upheaval sweeps through those states.

Distruction of historical manuscripts

The ancient city of Timbuktu saw its golden age as an Islamic intellectual and spiritual center in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, the Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, still stand as a testament to that time. But now, UNESCO warns, they are under threat from rebel groups, including Tuaregs and the al-Qaida-linked Ansar Dine.

UNESCO Assistant Director-General Francesco Bandarin said Friday that in addition to the mosques and several mausoleums, Timbuktu also has one of the world’s most important collections of ancient manuscripts.

“They have collected in Timbuktu in different collections, mostly private collections, a very large amount, over 30,000 manuscripts that are the most important library of religious and civil life in the Sahara. Also some of them are copied from previous times. It is an extremely important heritage of Islam and history there,” said Bandarin.

He said when the coup d’état began in late March the rebels did not loot the collections. But in mid-April, the situation worsened and some manuscripts were stolen from the Islamic research center in Timbuktu. He said UNESCO does not yet know how extensive the theft was.

UNESCO has warned Mali’s neighbors to be on the look-out for trafficked manuscripts. Bandarin noted that the illegal trade in antiquities worldwide is a $6 billion a year business, so that these treasures often end up on the black market and are sold to private collectors.

He said UNESCO sent a mission to Mali’s capital, Bamako, on Thursday to look into the situation further.

Bandarin says that while the Arab Spring has been good for democracy, it has not necessarily been kind to world heritage sites in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria.

Priceless artifacts, gone

In Libya, he points out that after the revolution ended, a priceless collection of more than 4,000 ancient Greek artifacts was looted from a bank vault in Benghazi.  Some of the items were retrieved in Egyptian markets, but many remain missing.

In Egypt, he says the chaos of the past year has led to a surge in the construction of illegal homes, which can damage ancient sites.

“A site can be destroyed in many forms, and not necessarily by a bomb, it can be destroyed by development of buildings and so on,” noted Bandarin.

In Syria, where anti-government protests led to 15 months of political violence, Bandarin says UNESCO has not had any major reports of damage. But he is concerned about reports that the Syrian military is using the ancient Crac des Chevaliers fortress west of the flashpoint town of Homs, and Salah El-Din Castle east of Latakia as staging grounds for deployments.

He says because of the violence, UNESCO has been unable to send a team in to assess these sites.

For now, he says, UNESCO hopes to “raise the alert” that important world heritage sites are under threat from conflict. He says through public awareness the agency hopes to avert such past tragedies, such as when the Afghan Taliban blew up the two 6th century monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan in 2001.

http://www.voanews.com/content/unesco-warns-heritage-sites-in-mali-arab-world-at-risk/727207.html

By RICK GLADSTONE

New York Times, April 16, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/world/africa/mali-ancient-books-stolen.html?_r=2

The United Nations expressed alarm on Monday over the safety of ancient books and documents in the storied city of Timbuktu as reports said that rebels had pillaged and looted the Ahmad Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research, as well as other institutions. Many of the archives document Timbuktu’s golden era between the 12th and 15th centuries. Irina Bokova, director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, appealed to Mali’s neighbors and art collectors to refrain from trying to sell the stolen items and urged warring factions in Mali to respect Timbuktu’s rich history as a “cultural crossroads and center of learning.”

First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict Dates: 24 September — 26 October 2012

Place: Rome, with study visits to other cities in Italy

With the cooperation of

• UNESCO, Blue Shield and specialized international and national agencies

Background
Armed conflicts world wide continue to involve deliberate or accidental damage to cultural heritage. Conflicts result in the weakening of governments and societies and endanger the core values that hold communities together. The protection and recovery of cultural heritage can play a crucial role in rebuilding societies and in overcoming the sense of loss and displacement.

Notwithstanding, in times of conflict, any operation will be delayed as ensuring security and safety of people takes precedence.  As a result, it is essential for the concerned professionals working in these areas to understand how and when to intervene to secure or recover cultural heritage while law enforcement, peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts are under way.

Objectives
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Analyze patterns in present-day conflicts, especially in relation to their interactions with cultural heritage;
• Explore the values associated with cultural heritage and the impact that conflict has on them;
• Assess and manage risks to cultural heritage in conflict situations;
• Secure, salvage and stabilize a variety of cultural materials;
• Take peacetime preparatory action to improve response in times of conflict;
• Critically examine the applicability of international legal instruments, and of conservation ethics and principles in times of conflict;
• Communicate successfully with the various actors involved, and work in teams.

Methodology
The course will comprise of interactive lectures, group activities, practical sessions, simulations, site visits and case studies. Participants will be asked to develop case studies drawing from their own experience and work context.

Participants
The course is aimed at those who are actively involved in the protection of cultural heritage within a variety of institutions (libraries, museums, archives, sites, departments of antiquities or archaeology, religious and community centres, etc.). It is also aimed at professionals from humanitarian and cultural aid organizations, as well as military, civilian and civil defense personnel. Those with experience in conflict situations are particularly encouraged to apply.

A maximum of 22 participants will be selected.

Teaching team
International team of professionals identified through ICCROM’s network.

Working language: English.

Course fee: 900 € (Euro).

Travel, accommodation and living expenses
Participants are responsible for their round-trip travel costs to and from Rome, Italy, and for all living expenses. To cover the cost of living, including accommodation, participants should plan for a minimum allowance of 1,800 € (Euro) for the entire duration of the course. Candidates are strongly encouraged to seek financial support from sources such as governmental institutions, employers and funding agencies.

Financial assistance
The organizers may offer financial support to a limited number of selected candidates who have been unable to secure funding from any other sources. Candidates are also advised to contact Italian cultural institutes in their home countries, as some may be able to offer short-term scholarships for research or training activities carried out in Italy.

Application
Please fill out the ICCROM application form and send it together with your personal statement by mail to the contact address below. E-mail applications are encouraged. In the event that it is not possible to provide a scanned version of the necessary photographs and signatures, it will also be necessary to send a paper copy.

Personal Statement: candidates are requested to provide a letter stating clearly the reasons for applying to the course, what they hope to learn from it, and how it will benefit them and their institution, country, or future employer (maximum of 700 words).

FAC 12
Collections Unit - ICCROM
Via di San Michele,13
00153 ROME RM, ITALY
Tel +39 06 585531
Fax +39 06 58553349

E-mail: aidinconflict (at) iccrom . org

Application deadline: 15 April 2012

This initiative is being organized with the financial support of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC).

http://www.iccrom.org/eng/01train_en/announce_en/2012_09courseCHconflict_en.shtml

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for the protection of the cultural heritage of Syria.

‘Following a number of media reports that Syria’s cultural heritage is threatened by the current conflict, I wish to express my grave concern about possible damage to precious sites and to call upon all those involved in the conflict to ensure the protection of the outstanding cultural legacy that Syria hosts on its soil.  Damage to the heritage of the country is damage to the soul of its people and its identity.’

Syria’s history extends back over thousands of years. A succession of cultures has left an outstanding wealth of archaeological sites, historic cities, cultural landscapes, monuments and works of art that bear witness to the evolution of human ingenuity. Six Syrian sites - Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra, Bosra, the Crac des Chevaliers and Saladin’s Castle, the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria - are inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List . Many others are inscribed on the country’s Tentative List, such as Apamea — where a number of journalists report that the Citadel of Madiq is being bombarded.

Earlier this year, UNESCO alerted the Syrian authorities, through their representative at UNESCO, about their responsibility to ensure the protection of cultural heritage. ‘This situation is becoming more crucial by the hour,’ stated the Director-General. ‘I urge the Syrian authorities to respect the international Conventions they have signed, in particular the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Properties in the Event of Armed Conflict, the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), and the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

In the framework of the of the 1970 Convention, the Director-General has already contacted the World Customs Organization, INTERPOL, and the specialized heritage police of France and Italy to alert them to objects from Syria that could appear on the international antiquities market. She has also called for the mobilization of all UNESCO’s partners to ensure the safeguarding of this heritage.

‘UNESCO stands ready to assist in assessing reports of damage to the cultural heritage of Syria, including the World Heritage sites, and in preparing plans for their safeguarding, as soon as this becomes possible,” she concluded.

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/director_general_of_unesco_appeals_for_protection_of_syrias_cultural_heritage/

Massive looting of archaeological sites in Egypt continues as security forces turn a blind eye to thugs plundering Egypt’s cultural heritage.

After Egypt’s revolution, priceless artifacts were stolen from the nation’s world-famous Egyptian Museum in Cairo as well as from innumerable storehouses scattered throughout the country.

Today the continued plundering of archaeological sites, which comprise Egypt’s cultural heritage in its most pristine state, presents an even more critical challenge as sites are often remote and protected by low-paid guards and state security seems unable or unwilling to halt the mayhem.

El Hibeh is one such site. On the east bank of the Nile in a particularly impoverished area of Egypt three hour’s drive south of Cairo, the archaeological site occupies about two square kilometers and includes cemeteries and the ruins of a walled ancient provincial town with a limestone temple, industrial facilities, houses and possible fort and governing residence. The remains date from the late Pharaonic, Graeco-Roman, Coptic and early Islamic periods (approximately 11th century BCE to eighth century CE). Hibeh is of special importance because it is one of very few relatively intact town sites remaining in Egypt and because of its extensive archaeological deposits dating to the Third Intermediate Period, Egypt’s last “Dark Age” and an era particularly poorly known archaeologically.

Eminent University of California, Berkeley archaeologist Dr. Carol Redmount arrived in Egypt in February to continue her archaeological work at the site after obtaining the proper permits from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities which controls all excavations in the country.

Twenty-four hours before departing for the site her permits were revoked by the provincial police service with no explanation.  Inquiries revealed that a mafia-like gang led by an escaped convicted crminal have been ruthlessly looting the site since at least June 2011.  The Supreme Council of Antiquities has been unable to stop the pillaging despite repeated appeals to local police services.  Open, systematic looting continues on a daily basis as of the writing of this press release.  Dr. Redmount has not been allowed to visit the site nor do any work.

“Hibeh is vitally important to understanding the character of ancient Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period, a very confusing and confused historical era for which only limited archaeological resources exist.  Archaeology is controlled destruction, but looting is obliteration.  It destorys an irreplaceable, nonrenewable cultural resource that belongs to humanity,” says Dr. Redmount.

Redmount’s team of six researchers from UC Berkeley is currently unable to do any of its proposed academic program at Hibeh for which they had received permission from the Egyptian authorities.  This is costing the team tens of thousands of dollars in lost grants.

“Our primary concern of course is the incalculable loss of precious archaeological evidence.  Archaeologists dream of excavating undisturbed or even relatively undisturbed historic sites. We are losing Hibeh for posterity as we speak,” adds Dr. Redmount.

Independent verification of the scale of the looting has been provided by visitors to the site who sent photos to Dr. Redmount, including pictures of looting in progress.
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Photographic evidence of the looting is available.

For media inquiries, contact:

1.     Dr.Carol Redmount, Egypt cell: +20-102-043-4999, redmount@berkeley.edu.

2.     Dr. Heidi Saleh, Professor at St. Rosa Junior College, California, who is able to discuss importance of site and has worked at Hibeh, hsaleh@santarosa.edu, tel. +1-707-527-4578.

3.     Mohamed Sherdy, prominent Egyptian politician, spearheading efforts to protect Hibeh and other sites, m.sherdy@editorpr.com, tel. +202-333-81069, mob. +20-100-559-9559.

4.     For Arabic media contacts: Amir Bibawy, Egyptian-American journalist, +20-120-706-7555 or +1-202-329-9169.

More pictures and details can be found at the Save El Hibeh Egypt Facebook page and at http://neareastern.berkeley.edu/hibeh/index.htm.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/337119989673652/doc/338292022889782/

A General Assembly of the Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield will take place 25-27 April, 2012, in Vienna, Austria.  All those interested in the activities of the Blue Shield are welcome.  The program will begin with a field exercise on the first day in the morning. The second day is reserved for elections, reports and round tables. The third day is also intended for a field exercise.

We recommend that you arrange your arrival as early as the 24th, where we plan to host a welcome reception in the evening. We invite you to consider using the long weekend for an enjoyable stay in Vienna. Hotel information will be provided as soon as possible.

http://www.law.depaul.edu/centers_institutes/ciplit/events/#/?i=1

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/us-iraq-artefacts-idUSTRE80T12J20120130

By Aseel Kami

BAGHDAD | Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:23am EST

(Reuters) - A 6,500-year-old Sumerian gold jar, the head of a Sumerian battle axe and a stone from an Assyrian palace were among 45 relics returned to Iraq by Germany on Monday.

The items were among thousands stolen from Iraq’s museums and archeological sites in the mayhem that followed the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The tiny gold jar, dating to 4,500 BC, the bronze axe head, clay tablets bearing cuneiform script, a metal amulet and other artifacts were seized by German police at public auctions and turned over to Iraqi officials in a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Alexander Schonfelder, deputy head of the German diplomatic mission in Iraq, said German law dictated that any artifacts taken from Iraq after 1990 should be returned.

“This means that the German government has the right to confiscate them and that is what we have done, and given them back to Iraq,” Schonfelder said.

Some 15,000 artifacts were thought to have been looted from the Iraqi National Museum and thousands more from archeological sites since the start of the 2003 war.

Up to than 10,000 of the National Museum pieces are still missing, said Amira Eidan, general director of the museum.

Iraq, which the ancient Greeks called Mesopotamia or “land between two rivers” because of its Tigris and Euphrates, is regarded by archaeologists as the cradle of civilization.

Many believe it gave birth to such milestones of human development as agriculture, codified law and the wheel.

In recent years the Iraqi government has slowly reassembled some of the country’s lost history.

Last September officials announced the recovery of the headless statue of a Sumerian king and more than 500 other pieces. Two weeks later the National Museum found 600 missing items stashed in a storeroom of the prime minister’s office.

In December 2008, Iraqi authorities seized 228 artifacts that smugglers planned to take out of the country.

“We are heading in coming months to retrieve Iraqi artifacts from Britain, from the United States of America, and Canada … we will follow Iraq’s antiquities wherever they are,” said Abbas al-Quraishi, head of Iraq’s artifact retrieval department.

(Reporting by Aseel Kami; Editing by Jim Loney)

Thomas Schuler, Blue Shield Germany and chair of the International Council of Museums Disaster Relief for Museums Task Force has put together an interim report on the fire last week at the Egyptian Institute in Cairo.  Read it at

http://blueshield.de/institut.html