https://share.america.gov/taking-back-antiquities-stolen-by-daesh/

Artifacts stolen by Daesh terrorists have been turned over to Iraqi experts.

“The list of Daesh’s atrocities and crimes is long, and includes theft and smuggling of Iraqi heritage and culture,” said U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones, emphasizing “Daesh is stealing your antiquities.”

In May, the United States recovered hundreds of stolen artifacts during a raid on the Syrian compound of Daesh senior leader Abu Sayyaf.

“These artifacts are indisputable evidence that Daesh — beyond its terrorism, brutality, and destruction — is also a criminal gang that is looting antiquities from museums and historical sites and selling them on the black market,” Jones said.

Daesh finances its terror operations in part with the illegal sale of stolen antiquities. To reduce this activity, the Department of State’s Cultural Antiquities Task Force worked with the International Council of Museums to develop the Emergency Red List of Iraqi Antiquities at Risk to help officials identify and confiscate cultural heritage that has been looted and smuggled.

Along with this effort, the State Department partners with the American Schools of Oriental Research on the Syrian Heritage Initiative.  The initiative helps to document, protect and preserve the cultural heritage of war-torn Syria and areas in Iraq occupied by Daesh.

 

About the Cultural Antiquities Task Force

The American Schools of Oriental Research is a partner of the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF). Created by the State Department in 2004 at the direction of Congress, the CATF comprises federal agencies that share a common mission to combat antiquities trafficking in the United States and abroad. Since its creation, the CATF has supported more than 95 domestic and international cultural property training programs. CATF is managed by the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center.

https://share.america.gov/this-red-list-can-save-cultural-heritage/

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Assyrian statues at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. (© AP Images)
Daesh is looting and destroying your cultural heritage. 

Secretary of State John Kerry calls the terrorist group’s attacks on precious and irreplaceable artifacts tragic and outrageous. The U.S. and the international community are fighting back. A U.N. Security Council resolution targets the ability of terrorist groups like Daesh to raise and move funds. It also requires member states to help prevent the trade in looted and stolen Iraqi and Syrian cultural property. The Department of State is the chair of the Cultural Antiquities Task Force. 

One way to halt that trade is by helping officials recognize stolen goods. That’s where Red Lists come in. Red Lists illustrate the types of cultural items most likely to be illegally bought and sold. They help customs officials, police officers, museums and art dealers identify illegally trafficked artifacts. 

On June 1 the United States and the International Council of Museums introduced an updated Emergency Red List of Iraqi Cultural Objects at Risk. 

How can you help? The U.S. maintains a database of stolen art and has a team of law enforcement officers dedicated to finding those treasures. Police from other nations can search the database and you can too. You also can submit tips online. 

Cultural treasures like those stolen or destroyed by Daesh belong to all the people of Iraq and Syria and they are part of a common heritage that belongs to all of us. 

Protect what’s yours. Learn more about Red Lists. 

 

About the Cultural Antiquities Task Force 

Created by the State Department in 2004 at the direction of Congress, the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF) comprises federal agencies that share a common mission to combat antiquities trafficking in the United States and abroad. Since its creation, the CATF has supported more than 95 domestic and international cultural property training programs. CATF is managed by the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center

Red Lists of Antiquities at Risk are compact, illustrated booklets designed for customs officials, police officers, museums, art dealers, and collectors, to help them recognize the general types of archaeological, ethnographic, and ecclesiastical objects that have been looted from cultural sites, stolen from museums and churches, and illicitly trafficked.

On June 1, 2015, at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, the United States and the International Council of Museums launched the updated Emergency Red List of Iraqi Cultural Objects at Risk. The event took place just before the Counter-ISIL Coalition Small Group Ministerial, June 2. The list, sponsored by the Cultural Heritage Center, is intended to help identify Iraqi cultural heritage objects that are most at risk of looting, theft, and illicit trafficking.

The Emergency Red List of Iraqi Cultural Objects at Risk is one of several Red Lists produced and distributed by ICOM with the support of the Cultural Heritage Center. Previously, on September 25, 2013, the Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk was released at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Others include Red Lists for West Africa (2016), Egypt (2011), Haiti (2010), Colombia (2010), China (2010), Central America and Mexico (2010), Cambodia (2009), Peru (2007), and Afghanistan (2007). They are available in English, French, the language(s) of the source country, and other languages.

 

Learn more about the U.S. Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center.

The U.S. Department of State is assisting with management planning, preservation, and educational development at the ancient site of Babylon, home to the “Tower of Babel” and Nebuchadnezzar’s wondrous “Hanging Gardens.” After concerns surfaced in 2004 about damage to Babylon, ECA’s Cultural Heritage Center published a comprehensive 618-page illustrated report (PDF) on harm done to the site during the rule of Saddam Hussein and use by coalition forces.

This report has laid the foundation for current ameliorative actions. The Department has awarded $2.7 million in funding to the World Monuments Fund (WMF) to collaborate with the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in the development of policies and practices that will ensure future preservation of the site, and serve as a model for the management of other Iraqi heritage sites. WMF also works closely with Iraqi preservationists to conserve key ancient structures damaged by erosion, neglect, and inappropriate use, including the 2,500-year-old Nabu-Sha-Khare Temple and Ishtar Gate. A $1 million field training initiative, funded by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, will enable comprehensive classroom instruction and on-site training of Iraqi preservation specialists involved in the project.

Related: 

Learn more about the U.S. Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center.

 

 

The Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (IICAH) is a state-of-the-art educational facility in Erbil, where international experts are training Iraq’s museum and heritage professionals in the preservation of their national treasures. The IICAH offers a two-year program in objects conservation and collections care, and additional curricula in architectural and site conservation, archaeological site preservation, and first aid for cultural heritage in crisis. Since 2009 more than 500 Iraqi professional men and women from all of Iraq’s social, religious, and ethnic communities have attended courses or workshops at the IICAH. First established under the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project (ICHP), the Institute is now managed by an Iraqi board of directors, and supported by a U.S.-Iraqi advisory council. The Cultural Heritage Center of the U.S. State Department’s Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau and U.S. Embassy Baghdad have continued to be actively involved in implementing the Institute's educational programs.

In addition to the initial ICHP grant, since 2009, the State Department has contributed $3.3 million in funding to support preservation training programs at the IICAH, and a range of non-U.S. government sources have contributed an additional $3.5 million.

IICAH Partners: 

  • Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage
  • Kurdistan Regional Government
  • U.S. Department of State (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Heritage Center, and U.S. Embassy Baghdad)
  • University of Delaware (Art Conservation Department, and Institute of Global Studies)
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Winterthur Museum
  • Walters Art Museum
  • Getty Conservation Institute
  • University of Arizona
  • University of Pennsylvania

Related: 

Learn more about the U.S. Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center.

 

A U.S. Embassy and Guatemalan Ministry of Culture initiative supported the development of a “Master Plan for the Physical Security of Tikal National Park,” which contains one of the largest and most important ancient Maya archaeological sites. 

A U.S.-Guatemalan team worked with on-site administrators, archaeologists, and security personnel, Ministry officials in the capital, and other stakeholders to develop site security procedures for preventing looting and theft; establishing a sustainably secure and safe environment for Park employees, users, researchers, residents, and tourists; and training Guatemalan cultural heritage professionals in project planning methods that are transferrable to other sites in Guatemala.

Learn more about the Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center.

Nine millennia of civilization in Syria have produced some of the world's most spectacular cultural heritage, from the remains of immense Bronze and Iron Age cities, to extensive Greek and Roman metropolises, well-preserved rural Byzantine towns, breathtaking medieval castles, and masterpieces of Islamic art and architecture.  Six of Syria’s heritage areas are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and 12 more have been nominated for inclusion.  
 
The ongoing conflict in Syria is having a devastating impact on the welfare of the Syrian people and the heritage they cherish.  Many historical landmarks – including World Heritage sites – have been damaged or destroyed, while archaeological sites have been ruthlessly and systematically plundered.  The United States strongly supports efforts to preserve Syria’s cultural heritage and continues to call on all parties to the conflict to respect and protect Syrian cultural sites, including museums, archives, and places of archaeological, historic, and religious significance.
 
The U.S. Department of State is committed to helping Syrians preserve their priceless heritage through a variety of projects. These include close monitoring of looting at archaeological sites, compiling a map and inventory of more than 1,000 major cultural heritage sites, and supporting the production of the Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk.  The United States will continue to closely monitor and raise awareness about threats to heritage in Syria.  We owe this to the Syrian people, who are being stripped of their cultural identity, and to the world at large that respects, admires, and studies this heritage.
 
Related:

 

In the context of ongoing upheaval and destruction of cultural heritage, U.S. Department of State and The Metropolitan Museum of Art held an event titled “Heritage in Peril: Iraq and Syria” on September 22, 2014 in New York City amid the United Nations General Assembly week.

The event’s keynote address was delivered by U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who called for an end to the destruction of culture in these countries. Additional remarks were given by representatives from international heritage organizations, namely Irina Bokova (UNESCO), Elizabeth Duggal (U.S. National Committee of the International Council of Museums); Bonnie Burnham (World Monuments Fund); Zaki Aslan (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property); and Michael Danti (The American Schools of Oriental Research).
 
Secretary Kerry stressed the importance of acting now to safeguard the cultural heritage of Iraq and Syria, stating that “we gather in the midst of one of the most tragic and most outrageous assaults on our shared heritage that perhaps any of us have seen in a lifetime.” He continued by underlining that the situation is “not just a tragedy for the Syrian and the Iraqi people..[but] for all civilized people” noting that culture “is the foundation of life.”
 

Slideshow

Digital Pamphlets

“Heritage in Peril: Iraq and Syria” (2014 MMA event)

“Saving Syria’s cultural Heritage” (2013 Red List Launch Event)

Red Lists

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Workshop participants in Arequipa, Peru, learn how to handle and inventory cultural objects in their Colonial period churches Workshop participants in Arequipa, Peru, learn how to handle and inventory cultural objects in their Colonial period churches
A U.S. Embassy initiative in cooperation with the Peruvian Ministry of Culture and the Archdiocese of Arequipa supported a three-day workshop on “Security and Preservation of Colonial Cultural Heritage Objects and Sites in Southern Peru,” held in Arequipa, Peru, on November 2014. 

More than 100 participants, including priests, nuns, and lay persons with responsibilities for the security and preservation of  their churches, monasteries, convents, and museums located in the three southern regions of the country received training in Peruvian and Church law for cultural heritage protection, physical security against theft, registration of cultural objects, and preparedness planning for earthquakes, fires, and other emergencies.

Learn more about the U.S. Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center.

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