The Syrian heritage task force and the importance of preserving Syria's cultural heritage

Summary

Currently many of Syria’s famous heritage sites are in territory outside of the control of the Assad regime and are at great risk from looting, damage as a result of conflict, or deliberate attack. This is not only causing irreparable damage to Syria's cultural heritage but also destroying the common history that provides Syrians with a shared sense of identity. In order to help protect this heritage and preserve it for the future, a Syrian Heritage Task Force (SHTF) was recently established. The SHTF provides an organizational framework for addressing emergency preservation concerns among heritage professionals and activists inside Syria, training, documenting and advocating for heritage protection among the international community. It is hoped that by working to protect and preserve Syria’s threatened history and heritage we are safeguarding its future, too.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

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