Community archaeology and emergency responses to heritage in crisis

Summary

How are we to respond to the current intentional destruction of heritage occurring in Syria and Iraq? The international regime of heritage protection rests upon the consensus of actors within the modern system of nation-states. But in the present crisis, one actor, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, rejects that system. Furthermore, in the case of Syria, UNESCO and other international preservation organizations find themselves locked into a structural situation where they are obliged to interact with the Assad government, which has been responsible for so much of the damage to historic sites. What alternatives might exist? Using the work of the Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project as an example, this paper articulates an alternative model of intervention. While there may yet be hope under customary international law to address ultimate criminal culpability, in terms of practical interventions, focusing efforts on community activists and other heritage professionals outside of formal government structures may prove to be one of the few viable strategies available for effective emergency actions in ethnonationalist and sectarian conflict.

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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

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