New observations of looting at archaeological sites in southern Mesopotamia

Summary

Archaeological sites in Iraq have suffered the consequences of unstable political conditions. Due to this volatile situation law enforcement has been inconsistent and allowed antiquities looters to vandalize southern Mesopotamian sites. This resulted in differential rates of damage among the country’s cultural heritage sites. By focusing on the ancient archaeological site of Girsu (modern-day Telloh) and its hinterland, I used Digital Globe imagery, remote sensing techniques and recent ethnographic information to show that the social aspects in people’s lives have effects on antiquities looting in southern Iraq.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Intentional destruction of cultural heritage: Evidence and responses in Syria and Iraq

Keywords

Spatial Coverage