As our members know well, ASOR has been a leading organization internationally in the effort to preserve and safeguard cultural heritage in the Middle East and wider Mediterranean regions. We thus decided that it would be good to hold our Spring Board Meeting in Washington on April 17: the day before The International Day for Monuments and Sites (also called World Heritage Day). This timing allowed ASOR to call upon its trustees and other colleagues to help raise awareness about the successes and challenges of safeguarding cultural heritage in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

ASOR joined forces with the AIA, the Smithsonian Institution, and the GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute to commemorate World Heritage Day with programming at the Ring Auditorium at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution on Monday, April 18. The symposium reported on efforts to document, protect, and preserve cultural heritage sites in the Near East and North Africa, and it built upon conversations started at a NEH-funded summit held by AIA and ASOR in Washington in December 2015. In contrast to other recent symposia, the presentations included “success stories” in addition to accounts of the challenges facing cultural heritage from wars and from attacks by extremist groups such as ISIL. Topics included assessing the damage suffered by Near Eastern cultural heritage sites imperiled by conflict and by looting; technological strategies for documenting and preserving the cultural heritage record; and conservation projects, especially those that engage local communities and stakeholders.

The following is a list of presentations and topics:

Hanan Charaf, University of Paris I-Sorbonne, gave a presentation on “Cultural Heritage in Lebanon.” She recounting the devasting impact of the civil war in Lebanon in 1990. Many sites were destroyed from the war and looting, museums were plundered, and many objects were stolen. Charaf described how archaeological sites and museum have recovered and have been rebuilt in the subsequent decades. She also reviewed the many active archaeological projects that are being carried out in Lebanon today.

Michael Danti, ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives, discussed “Cultural Heritage in Syria and Iraq,” and gave a summary of the activitieis of the ASOR project from the past 18 months. ASOR has produced more than 3,500 pages of bi-weekly reports documenting hundreds of incidents of heritage damage. The team collaborated with international partners to create an inventory of about 13,000 sites and monuments in Syria and Iraq. The project has also worked to combat the trade of looted and stolen objects as well as carried out mitigation projects and created plans for future restoration projects.

Susan Kane, Oberlin College, spoke on “Cultural Heritage in Libya.” In her presentation, she described how the rich heritage of sites and artifacts in museums has been under threat because of civil war and the current threat posed by ISIL. She recounted heroic stories of local Libyans hiding artifacts in museums to save them from plunder, and she described the successful training programs that have empowered Libyans to document and preserve their own heritage. She also described the need for further work, including the creation of an inventory of historic monuments, buildings, and sites.

Salam Al Kuntar, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, described the “The Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Program (SHOSI),” a program, co-sponored by the Smithsonian Institution, AAAS, and the Penn Cultural Heritage Center. Through research, trainings for local museum professionals, public outreach, and the use of modern technologies to monitor destruction, SHOSI is responding to the threats against cultural heritage in the Middle East. Team members work directly with Syrian and Iraqi museum and cultural professionals to provide training, equipment, and technical support for on-the-ground protection and preservation of cultural heritage.

Oystein LaBianca, Andrews University, discussed “Cultural Heritage in Jordan” by describing the ways in which the excavation project at Tall Hisban has incorporated the larger local community in the excavation project as a means of promoting local ownership and involvement in cultural heritage. He stressed the need for a long-term commitment through multiple agencies that stretch across multiple age groups. The goal is not only the exploration of the archaeological site, but the inclusion of the local community.

Alexander Nagel, Smithsonian Institution, discussed the “Cultural Heritage in Yemen” and presented a heart-wrenching account of the crisis that is still unfolding in Yemen today. He gave evidence of looted and stolen artifacts that were being sold for high values (and thus contributing to more looting and plundering). He also gave a devastating overview of damage from airstrikes that have been carried out in just the past year. He showed the audience that numerous World Heritage Sites have already been destroyed, and there is a need for the international community to take action to protect the remaining sites and artifacts.

Katie A. Paul, Antiquities Coalition, discussed “Cultural Heritage in Egypt” by presenting a social media study as a way of maximizing police efforts. She explained that organized criminals systematically plunder Egyptian sites, and law enforcement is spread too thin to combat the threat. She showed that major conflicts almost always precipitate the looting of sites or attempted attacks on museums. Attacks on antiquities storage facilities followed upheaval immediately—sometimes, within hours—and once those resources were tapped, archaeological sites became the focus of activity. She presented one way that security efforts might be maximized and help combat the looting.

Gil Stein, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, discussed the “Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan” by reviewing the joint project between the Oriental Institute and the National Musueum of Afghanistan. The three-year project has been funded by U. S. Department of State in order to help the Afghans rebuild their national museum and then document their collections. Stein recounted how the team not only rebuilt the building structure but also conducted training so that the Afghan employees could continue to manage and preserve their cultural heritage. In a symposium filled with many heart-wrenching stories and images (including quite a few from Afghanistan), it was nice to see a success story made possible by international collaboration.