ISIS - The Destruction & Looting of Antiquities: Challenges and Solutions

By Matthew Bogdanos

As the head of the investigation into one of the greatest art crimes in recent memory— the looting of the Iraq Museum in 2003—I have spent more than a decade attempting to recover and return to the Iraqi people their priceless heritage (Bogdanos, 2005a and 2005b; Cruickshank, 2003). 16* I have also spent a significant amount of time in three parallel pursuits: 1) attempting to correct the almost universal misconceptions about what happened at the museum, in those fateful days in April 2003; 2) highlighting the need for the concerted and cooperative efforts of the international community to preserve, protect and recover the shared cultural heritage of all humanity; and 3) trying to increase awareness of the continuing cultural catastrophe that is represented by the illegal trade in stolen antiquities, which is indeed funding terrorism. Toward these ends, and in more than one hundred and fifty cities in nineteen countries, in venues ranging from universities, museums and governmental organizations to law-enforcement agencies, from Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) to both houses of the British Parliament, I have urged a more active role for governments, international organizations, cultural institutions and the art community. I have done so, knowing that most governments have few resources to spare for tracking down stolen artifacts; that many international organizations prefer to hit the conference center rather than the streets; and that many academics are content to issue a call for papers, rather than a call to action. As for the archaeological community, I have learned that some members wash their hands of unpleasant realities and argue that, while technically illegal, the market in purloined antiquities is benign—victimless—as long as it brings the art to those who can properly protect and appreciate it (namely, themselves). All the while, the situation in Middle East deteriorated dramatically after 2003, causing the United States to withdraw its forces from Iraq—an action most knowledgeable (read “non-political”) observers predicted would lead to a power struggle, such as the one that has played out in vivid color as ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) commits one atrocity after another. Given the bloodshed, it is a pretty tough sell to ask people to care about a bunch of old rocks with funny writing. Finding the political will to divert resources to saving cultural artifacts, no matter how precious, seems like cutting funding for police and fire in order to expand the public library. There might be a case for it one day, but not now. After all, looting has always been a cottage industry in the Middle East, the region that gave birth not just to agriculture, cities, the wheel, and pottery, but to war and conquest, as well. T he argument for protecting artifacts takes on added strength when we recognize that Iraq and Syria have been so bloody, not just because of the failure to provide sufficient security to overcome the long-festering tribal and religious animosities, but also, I submit, because of the continuing failure to appreciate the importance Iraqis and the rest of the Middle East place on the preservation of their history. This failure to protect a rich heritage going back to the dawn of civilization has convinced many that we in the West do not care about any culture other than our own. Even today, more than a decade after the initial looting, and despite having recovered almost two-thirds of the antiquities stolen from the museum,3 we are hard-pressed to keep pace with the artifacts that are  being looted from archaeological sites every day. In light of such efforts to destroy important historical and archeological sites in this region, the excavations in the City of David stand out as a model of cultural preservation. T he excavations shed light on 4,000 years of the history of Jerusalem and the origins of Western civilization at large. The dedicated efforts of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel National Parks Authority, working in coordination with the City of David, have ensured that their discovery and preservation of antiquities and sites serve to educate over half a million visitors each year. Their publication of their findings also enriches the understanding of historians, academics, and researchers of ancient Jerusalem from the pre-Biblical period to the present day.

The Megalim Institute, 2020; 21p.