Protection for the Historic Monuments and Objects of Art in Nearer Asia

Abstract

THE collapse of the Turkish Empire has coalled the attention of the civilized world to the importance of protecting the ancient historic monuments and objects of art which for centuries have been under the careless rule of a government that has had little or no interest in them. No lands on the globe contain such rich treasures of antiquity, occupying so vast an area, representing so many civilizations, and covering so long a period of the world's history. Most of the early history of our own civilization and art lies buried in these lands which are now to be placed under some form of control by the leading powers of the western world. It is manifestly the duty of these powers to take immediate steps to protect this ancient heritage—of which, after all, the western world is the true heir—and to formulate laws, and mJake common agreements, according to which the historic monuments and the works of ancient art now buried may be brought to light and made most efficiently to serve the demands of civilization.