Destruction Of Archaeological Sites Research Articles

A MESOPOTAMIAN TRADITION? AN ANCIENT MAP RELATED TO THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM OF THE OLD ELAMITE PERIOD FROM TAPPEH GĀRĀN, DEH LURAN PLAIN, IRAN

To Professor James NeelyIn respect and admirationAlmost 50 years after landmark archaeological activities in the Deh Luran plain in southwestern Iran by Frank Hole, Kent Flannery, James Neely, and Henry Wright, the area was re-surveyed in 2016 and 2019 to assess the destruction of archaeological sites as a result of agricultural and expanded irrigation activities. During the surface survey on Tappeh Gārān two inscribed objects were found. The inscriptions yield some information on the economic and political importance of Tappeh Gārān in the Old Elamite Period. Textual evidence indicates that throughout the 3th to the 1st millennia BCE, Mesopotamian rulers frequently invaded Elam and seized its principal centres, especially Susa. As the main corridor between Elam and its western neighbors, the Deh Luran plain is a major route between the two, especially in regards to the acquisition of raw materials by the Mesopotamians, including different kinds of stone and bitumen. Further, the abundance of water and fertile soil made the Deh Luran plain a desirable target for Mesopotamian polities. The inscribed objects from Tappeh Gārān consist of writings in Akkadian and geometric patterns that we think illustrate the outline of an agricultural scheme.

A Multi-Temporal Analysis of Archaeological Site Destruction using Landsat Satellite Data and Machine Learning, Moche Valley, Peru

The destruction of archaeological sites and the loss of archaeological landscapes remains a global concern as populations and urban areas continue to expand. Archaeological sites are not only significant to local communities, national identities, and modern tourist economies but also provide critical knowledge of past sociocultural interactions, settlement patterns, human-environment relationships, and risk mitigation strategies. While archaeological landscapes and site destruction have remained outside of traditional land use land cover change (LULCC) studies, they are a form of urban and agricultural land use. By conceptualizing archaeological site destruction within land change science, this study provides an innovative approach for assessing “what's left” of historically surveyed archaeological landscapes. Using a Random Forest algorithm and Landsat satellite data, this study quantifies archaeological site destruction attributed to LULCC in Peru's lower Moche Valley between 1985 and 2020. More than 400 archaeological sites previously recorded during the Chan Chan-Moche Valley Project (CCMVP, 1969–1974) are analyzed. Results indicate that less than a quarter of the original CCMVP sites remain on the landscape. The primary drivers of LULCC in the lower Moche Valley include population growth, migration, and government policies, while secondary drivers include heritage values. Positioning archaeological survey data within land change science and integrating machine learning techniques can benefit historic survey reassessments globally and provides significant knowledge of archaeological site destruction and the socioeconomic conditions that underly dynamic landscape changes.

Heritage education and active learning: Developing community and promoting diversity in Turkey

ABSTRACT Heritage education is part of the global response to destruction of archaeological sites in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries and will be important in achieving the secondary integration priorities of the Turkish state and NGOs working with Syrian migrants in Turkey. However, the effectiveness and pedagogy of heritage education interventions in diverse MENA communities is under-researched. We present here quantitative and qualitative evaluation data from a pilot project involving 169 teachers and c.2,800 children in Fethiye, SW Turkey. Educational games based on the pedagogic principle of Active Learning were well-received and raised participants' awareness of heritage but teacher confidence in delivering them remained low, even after training. Active Learning effectively engages both local and migrant groups with the shared space that they inhabit, even where its heritage has contested meanings, and heritage education and may have long-term social benefits for communities experiencing disruption and migration caused by conflict.

Пам’ятки археології під час війни: польовий досвід та юридичний аспект (на прикладі робіт МАЕ у м. Києві та Київській області у 2022 р.)

The issue of recording the damage caused to cultural heritage as a result of unprovoked aggression of the Russian Federation is extremely relevant. The process of monitoring the destruction of objects takes place both at the state level and thanks to the activities of civil initiatives. However, at the present stage, the analysis of losses focuses mainly on objects of architecture, monumental art and religious buildings. On the other hand, recording the destruction of archaeological sites, due to certain features, faces significant difficulties. This situation is related to the unrevealed state of the archaeological objects themselves, the detection of which is possible due to significant landscape transformations. Among the main factors that make it difficult to record the loss of archaeological heritage, the following should be mentioned: problems related to the accounting of archeology objects, issues of limited remote and direct access to sites in the de-occupied and front-line territories, immediate risks to life and health when conducting field research. In order to solve problems in the field of documenting damage to the archaeological heritage, representatives of a number of domestic scientific, educational and museum institutions created an interdisciplinary Archaeological Landscapes Monitoring Group, whose task is to record losses at archaeological sites. Currently, the work of the group is carried out in the territories of Kyiv and Chernihiv regions within the framework of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) project 'Ukrainian Archaeological Heritage, threatened by war: saving and protection'. One of the conclusions obtained during the work of the Group was the understanding of the need for direct field studies of destroyed areas of landscapes, given the limited use of remote methods of studying and the need for production site-protection documentation, which provides for the cultural and chronological attribution of objects. The article provides a brief summary of the Group's work in Kyiv region and analyzes the compliance of monitoring activities with international standards. One of the conclusions of the proposed study is the statement about the need for a long-term state program for compiling the archaeological cadastre of Ukraine. The crisis in the archaeological heritage accounting system and the existing need to record losses in the field of archaeology during the war allows to restart the system of sites registering at a modern level and with the use of international experience. Key words: cultural heritage, archaeological monitoring, recording of damages, war, archaeological landscape, accounting of sites.

Personal Experience Stories at the Crossroad of Archaeology and Folklore

"Archaeological heritage of Turkey has been suffering for ages from severe destruction through the activities of local antiquities looters. The main reasons for this escalating phenomenon among the Turkish population include poverty, enhanced global demand for looted archaeological material in the worldwide market, gaps in laws, folklore, and the addiction to adrenalin experienced by looters. To comprehend the ongoing archaeological destruction caused by looters in Turkey, we need to be willing to investigate their folklore formed in the framework of illicit looting. Even though Turkish law strictly states looting as a crime, Anatolian-Turkish folklore, including oral tradition, does not condemn looters even as deviants. Hence, folklore must be listed as one of the significant excuses why Anatolian archaeological heritage keeps being looted. In recent decades, the destruction of archaeological sites of Anatolia and the loss of cultural heritage have entered a dangerous phase due to local looters having access to technological devices, software, and international connections, as well as folkloric spiritual, ritualistic guidance. My research aims to understand how and under which circumstances looters become looters in the first place. Keywords: Turkey, cultural heritage, folklore, antiquities looters, personal experience narratives. "

A new approach to population: Using multiple measures to estimate the population of a protohistoric village in the western Great Lakes region, USA

Prehistoric population sizes are difficult to determine, even with very well documented archaeological contexts. Within the Western Great Lakes, USA region, village population size is poorly understood due to poor preservation of village structures, excavations that did not capture the full extents of villages, and widespread destruction of archaeological sites. We combine data from geophysical surveys, historical aerial and drone-based image analyses, as well as excavation to determine the distribution of archaeological features at the protohistoric Middle Grant Creek site (11WI2739), Illinois, USA. Estimates of village population are calculated and compared using multiple measures, including structure floor area, maize storage volume, cultivation area, and maize consumption. The different estimates vary, yet they converge to indicate a population of 100 and 180 people at this agricultural village. The use of converging multiple estimates of population provides a more convincing estimate than any single source and shows how various assumptions affect different estimates. The measures employed provide a new approach to determining village size beyond traditional methods of using floor area and historic comparison, and can be used in locations where traditional measures are not available, as well as for large, dispersed sites that cannot be fully excavated.

الآثار الیمنیة ومخاطر الحرب والکوارث الطبیعیة

تتعرض الآثار اليمنية لعدد من المخاطر يمکن تلخيصها بالمحاور الآتية : تدمير المواقع الأثرية بسبب الحرب نبش المواقع الأثرية من قبل المواطنين تهريب القطع الأثرية وبيعها في الخارج لتجار الآثار والعاديات وأصحاب المجموعات الخاصة وکذلک الدول. دمار أجزاء کبيرة من عدد من المدن التاريخية بسبب الکوارث الطبيعية، المتمثلة بالأمطار والفيضانات التي هطلت في شهري يونيو وأغسطس 2020م. بسبب ما تمر به اليمن من ظروف استثنائية وحرب منذ أکثر من خمس سنوات فقد تعرض الآثار اليمنية سواءا تلک الثابتة أم المنقولة لمخاطر جسمية وتدمير متعمد وغير متعمد أدى إلى فقدان ذلک البلد جزءا کبيرا من شواهد حضارته المادية التي لا يمکن اعادتها إلى ما کانت عليه نتيجة للأضرار الجسمية التي لحقت بها إلا بصعوبة بالغة وتکاليف مادية باهضة ، فضلا عن العدد الکبير من القطع الأثرية التي لا يمکن استعادتها البته بسبب تهريبها وبيعها في الخارج. لم تعد الآثار اليمنية من أولويات رعاية واهتمام کل الفرقاء السياسيين کما کانت في السابق، وذلک لانشغالهم بتداعيات الحرب ، فضلا عن عدم اتفاقهم حتى الآن على رؤية لحل النزاع الدائر في هذا البلد ن وعدم رغبة أي طرف تحمل مسؤولية الحفاظ عل ذلک الإرث الحضاري. لم تکن الآثار اليمنية محل اهتما اولئک السياسيين قبل الحرب إلا بقدر انتفاعهم منها في الجانب السياسي ( وخاصة الجانب الدعائي). Yemeni antiquities and the dangers of war and natural disasters Abstract: Yemeni antiquities are exposed to a number of risks that can be summarized in the following axes: Destruction of archaeological sites due to war Excavation of archaeological sites by citizens Smuggling and selling antiquities abroad to antiquities and antiquities dealers, owners of private collections, as well as countries. The destruction of large parts of a number of historical cities due to natural disasters, represented by rain and floods that fell in the months of June and August 2020.

Landscapes variability and the early peopling of the inter-Andean Magdalena Valley, Colombia (South America)

The Magdalena River is the longest inter-Andean river in Northern South America. We focus on the middlesection calling attention to the implication of a geoarchaeological approach to understanding the role of depositional and erosional processes over time in the preservation and destruction of archaeological sites. Most likely the majority of the earliest Preceramic deposits - predating ca 12,900 BP - left in ancient shores and terraces, were erased or buried. Archaeological early remains are recorded on the alluvial paleo-terraces and piedmont hillslopes of the lowlands throughout the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition, during and after the El Abra Stadial - equivalent to the Younger Dryas period (ca. 12,900–11,700 cal BP). From the Terminal Pleistocene through the Middle Holocene specialized hunter-gatherers occupied floodplains and alluvial fan surfaces, as well as the relict high terraces remnants. The presence of industries with bifacial tools, - such as triangular stemmed points, and pressure retouched well finished tools (plano-convex scrapers) - occurred only throughout preceramic times. Climatic changes (above all precipitation variability), vegetation belt shifts and volcanism have affected geomorphic shifts in the lowlands of the Magdalena Valley. These changes are primarily responsible for the limited evidence of preceramic occupations. The early archaeological record is a dependent variable in the larger context of an evolving landscape. This relationship is critically important in evaluating the importance of the Magdalena Valley in the early settlement of the Northwest South American lowlands.

Heritage monitoring and surveillance using Sentinel satellite data in the Lower Alentejo (Portugal)

In this article, the potential of Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) for large-scale monitoring of archaeological sites is analysed. This analysis focuses on the Portuguese Lower Alentejo region, where multiple sites have been destroyed over the last years, mainly due to intensive agriculture. The development of a surveillance system based on data from the Sentinel 1 and Sentinel 2 satellite constellations, named SENSEOS, had its pilot application in this region during the first half of 2019. In a vast region where authorities lacked the proper resources to timely detect events endangering the integrity of heritage sites, this system tried to overcome these issues. By using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical data, it was possible to detect such events through a technique labelled Normalized Difference Amplitude Index (NDAI). The identification of these changes on the surface, associated with potentially destructive events, contributed to minimize the damage and destruction of archaeological sites.

Climate-driven migration: prioritizing cultural resources threatened by secondary impacts of climate change

Archaeological sites are increasingly threatened by primary impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, flooding, and erosion. These important sites represent cultural heritage and contain unique past environmental, ecological, and climate information. Stewardship of these cultural resources is generally limited to mitigation and salvage of immediately threatened sites, with little forethought given to secondary impacts of climate change. Secondary impacts are defined in this paper as climate-driven resettlement and associated development and may result in destruction of archaeological sites via resettlement of affected populations. The United Nations predicts increases above existing rates of resettlement of climate-affected communities from areas in which in situ infrastructure adaptations are not economically feasible, legal, or physically possible. Resulting development will likely disturb archaeological sites in interior regions. These cultural, environmental, and climate archives may be lost if urgent, unplanned climate-driven resettlement overwhelms state and local protections. Thus, planning for climate-driven resettlement should include standard methods for assessing threats to archaeological sites. Using Southern Maine as a pilot study, we report a trial methodology for identifying towns likely to experience rapid increases in population and infrastructure development related to climate-driven resettlement. Socioeconomic and demographic data, land cover change analyses, and archaeological records are combined in this risk assessment framework. The products are town-level maps that identify archaeological sites threatened by secondary impacts of climate change (climate-driven migration). This tool enables prioritization of threatened sites prior to potential destruction by large-scale migration and associated economic development and makes timely development compliance with federal and state legislation more likely.

Reaction and Responses to the Looting and Destruction of Sites in Iraq During the Invasion and Period Of Occupation

The reaction of the international community to the looting of the National Museum and archaeological sites in Iraq was one of outrage; that of the Bush Administration was one of indifference. Although the United States is legally responsible for the looting of the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad and the looting and destruction of archaeological sites which took place during its occupation of the country, it is doubtful that they will ever face legal sanction

Legal Pluralism and the Protection and Management of Cultural Landscapes in Nigeria

The protection and management of cultural heritage are central issues of discourse in cultural resources management today. Cultural landscapes constitute part of non-renewable resources that are finite and therefore need to be protected. All over the world especially, in Nigeria, archaeological sites and resources are neglected and to a large extent destroyed due to the inability of the public, stakeholders, educationists, and developers to appreciate the enormous contributions of cultural landscapes to national development. The laws that have been put in place for the protection and management of cultural landscapes, particularly those that prevent them from being destroyed by construction companies and other development projects, are not fully implemented. This paper intends to draw the attention of relevant Nigerian authorities to the applicable laws and the need to enforce them. This will ensure that development does not result in the unmitigated destruction of archaeological sites and cultural heritage.

THE CHANGE OF ROLE OF THE HYDROGEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AT THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE FUNCTIONING OF NATURAL-ARCHEOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

The time-varying resources for water supplies of historical settlements, fortifications and fortresses in periods of their creation and usage have been analyzed. Nowadays it is necessary to assess the role of hydrogeological conditions as an important component of engineering- geological conditions in order to study the reasons of conservation and destruction of archaeological sites. The contribution of groundwater in protection (conservation) of organic origin artifacts has been considered. It is necessary to ensure a safe groundwater level to avoid flooding and chemical weathering during the process of the museumification of the archaeological sites.

Formalno-prawna problematyka archeologii współczesności w Polsce

Recently, in the circle of archaeologists, we observe discussions on the issues related to the contemporary archeology. This topic is also the subject of disputes between the opponents and the supporters of an innovative look at archeology. Studying this issue, it is worth pointing that the places and events connected with the contemporary history are increasingly becoming a subject of interest to archaeologists. It overlaps with another issue – devastation and destruction of archaeological sites along with many places of battlefields in our country. It is increasingly evident that the field of action of archaeologists touches the dark period of operation in our country by the German occupation authorities and the post-war communist authorities. We should keep in mind that even the dark part of our history must be protected. It is also our heritage, which should be a subject of protection enshrined in the Constitution of the Polish Republic with its tangible and intangible elements and without any restrictions. It would be advisable that the archaeologists, conservation authorities and all stakeholders should explain all the emerging doubts while working out on the common position in this matter. We should realize that the contemporary archeology is not only traces of the past events that surround us, but it is also the material evidence of our existence that will remain after us. It seems that the contemporary archeology is nothing but a continuation of the archeology, which evolves and follows the mankind, along with our sometimes complicated existence. It is still archeology, which is called the contemporary archeology in order to precisely define the period of its interest. We should keep in mind that the contemporary archeology is also an important element shaping the cultural awareness which further increases its value.

Forum: State-consented destruction of archaeological sites: the Dakar rally in northern Chile (2009-2015)

Forum: State-consented destruction of archaeological sites: the Dakar rally in northern Chile (2009-2015)

Monitoring and assessing the destruction of archaeological sites from Kuibyshev reservoir coastline, Tatarstan Republic, Russian Federation. A case study

The paper presents the research undertaken in the coastal area of Kuibyshev Reservoir from Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. The aim of the research is to assess the erosion rate of the coastline, to identify the most dynamic parts, and to improve the predictions of the future archaeological sites being under threat from coastal erosion. As a baseline, Soviet aerial images and topographic surveys were combined in a GIS in order to create a database and a 3D model of the coastline, which will serve as a base for future surveys. The most dynamic part is located in the North-western part, from 1958 until 1980 (22 years), 150 m from the coastline being eroded (6.81 m/year), leading to the complete disappearance of the hillfort, only the South-eastern bastion remaining. The coastline is very dynamic, with an increasing erosion rate from 2012, when the first topographic surveys were undertaken. There have been proposed mitigation measures, the most significant one is to completely eliminate the exploitation road along the coastline.

The Negative Effects of the Separation Wall on the Architectural and Urban Heritage of Al-Quds

<p>The destruction of archaeological sites leads to big loss at the local and regional levels and any interruption to the past will have a negative impact on the present and the future. The preservation and protection of archaeological sites consists an economic, cultural and heritage impact for the nations. This study aims mainly to review the factors threating the destruction of archeological sites with an attempt to find the methods that reduce the threat and preserve what is left of the Palestinian remains. In additions, it includes an analytical study of the direct and indirect of the separation wall on the archeological sites in Al-Quds (Al-Quds 2020). The most important of these threats to the architectural heritage is the danger of the separation wall (The Al-Quds envelope). The study recommended the need for intensified efforts by concerned Palestinian authorities and institutions, especially the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to face the wall and its negative effects on archaeological sites on one hand and to put the protection and preservation of archaeological sites within their priorities on the one hand. Others, because of the economic and cultural importance of these sites, which affect the identity of the architecture. </p>

HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING FOR THE 3D VIRTUAL RECONSTRUCTION OF DESTROYED STRUCTURES: A CASE STUDY IN ITALY

Abstract. The current dramatic episodes of destruction of archaeological sites have again highlighted the problem of the safeguarding the threatened heritage and, if possible, recovering those damaged by all the armed conflicts of the past. The historical photogrammetry offers the possibility to recover a posteriori the geometrical and material properties of destroyed structures, reconstructing their 3D model to document, study and maintain their memory, until to support their real anastylosis. The presented work is about the 3D reconstruction of the civic tower of the little town of Sant’Alberto, near the city of Ravenna, Italy. The tower, as a symbol of resistance and pride of the town's population, was destroyed in December 1944 by German troops in retaliation, when they were forced to leave the area. A city committee has subsequently collected all the historical evidence concerning the tower, including a series of photographic images that can be used for the photogrammetric reconstruction; the images calibration and orientation have been solved using the geometric information derived by a terrestrial laser scanner survey realized in the area where the tower was originally located. Despite the scarcity and very poor quality of the available images, the conducted photogrammetric procedure has allowed a complete and qualitatively satisfying object reconstruction, also thanks to the use of geometric constraint tools offered by the chosen software. The integration between the obtained model of the old tower and the 3D TLS survey of the square made it possible to reconstruct the ancient situation of the area.

Archaeology and Contemporary Warfare

In the contemporary world, archaeology has become drawn, sometimes in dramatic fashion, into the violence of war. Archaeologists have taken part in monitoring and attempting to protect sites, museums, and monuments. However, they have engaged to a lesser extent with the underlying connections between damage to and destruction of archaeological remains and the reasons why archaeology has become increasingly both a target and a weapon of war. To highlight the complex intertwining of archaeology and war, this review examines the relationships among archaeologists' conceptions of their profession, the spiraling commodification of remains of the past, understandings and practices of cultural heritage, and the willful destruction of archaeological sites and objects, with a focus on Western Asia.

Levallois Tradition epigones in the Middle Nile Valley: survey in the Affad Basin

The paper presents the results of an archaeological ground survey aimed to record prehistoric settlement landscape in chosen parts of the Southern Dongola Reach (Tergis, Affad and El-Nafab districts). The project fills in the gaps in earlier research on the right bank of the Nile. Numerous new sites were recorded, all reflecting a frequently occupied level of silts and sands originating in the former river valley aggradations. Prospection of locations recorded in 2003 and later demonstrated also the progressing destruction of archaeological sites on the fringes of modern settlement and the new road from Karima to Nawa.