tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81610503716663151102024-03-14T09:45:04.738+00:00The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (Gertrude Bell Memorial)<a href="http://www.bisi.ac.uk">The British Institute for the Study of Iraq</a> is a UK charity. We fund and carry out research and public education on Iraq and neighbouring countries. BISI’s academic coverage includes anthropology, archaeology, history, geography, language and other fields in the arts, humanities and social sciences, from the earliest times until the present.Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-29713932508386159692018-01-10T13:11:00.002+00:002018-01-10T13:11:42.852+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6WE9w-kKddCV6ZoiVz1LhICT-nQxI_jrWiJ-J8LTvY9L7W3yMGsDYERbnsdyXKpBT0WQwzjw7NEr867m3bJsTb3kXQDpfNvrl-FtLDECXMGG3xBQbIcJ8QuRZaaX7S2qD6Q2w3lxPeY/s1600/iraq-background.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6WE9w-kKddCV6ZoiVz1LhICT-nQxI_jrWiJ-J8LTvY9L7W3yMGsDYERbnsdyXKpBT0WQwzjw7NEr867m3bJsTb3kXQDpfNvrl-FtLDECXMGG3xBQbIcJ8QuRZaaX7S2qD6Q2w3lxPeY/s320/iraq-background.jpg" width="480" height="108" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="359" /></a></div>
<h3>Call for papers: <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/iraq/"><i>IRAQ</i></a> special section
on the life, work and legacy of Ethel Drower</h3>
<p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._S._Drower">Ethel Stephana Drower (1879–1972)</a></b> was a pioneer of the anthropological study of Iraq’s minorities, especially the Mandaeans. She travelled widely, published prolifically, and earned the respect of her informants as well as her academic peers, despite her lack of formal academic training. Yet, beyond J.J. Buckley’s <i>Lady E.S. Drower’s Scholarly Correspondence</i> (Brill 2012), she has been little studied and is largely unknown outside the specialist field of Mandaean studies.</p>
<p>2019 will mark <b>the 140th anniversary of Drower’s birth</b> and the 85th anniversary of the first issue of IRAQ, to which she contributed (E.S. Drower, ‘Mandean writings’, <i>IRAQ</i> 1 [1934], 171–82). We propose to celebrate the occasion with a special section devoted to assessing Drower’s life, work, and legacy, co-edited by Erica Hunter, Augusta McMahon, Eleanor Robson, and Mark Weeden.</p>
<p>We invite <b>papers of 5,000 to 10,000 words</b> addressing topics and issues that might include (but are not limited to) the following in relation to Ethel Drower:</p>
<ul>
<li>women’s lives in Mandate Iraq</li>
<li>Iraqi folklore and anthropology</li>
<li>Mandaean history and culture</li>
<li>the Mandaic language</li>
</ul>
<p>The <b>deadline for expressions of interest is 1 March 2018</b>. Please email an anonymised one-page PDF to the Editors at e.robson @ ucl.ac.uk. Expressions of interest will be reviewed by the Editorial Board, which will issue invitations to submit papers by the end of that month.</p>
<p>The <b>deadline for submission of invited papers is 1st September 2018</b>. Please follow the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/iraq/information/instructions-contributors">submission instructions</a>. All submissions will be double-blind refereed and up to six papers will be selected for publication in <i>IRAQ</i> 81 (2019). Authors will be informed of the outcome by the end of December 2018.</p>
<p>The Editors of <i>IRAQ</i><br/>
Eleanor Robson, Augusta McMahon, and Mark Weeden<br/>
January 2018</p>Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-66355023024098249872016-11-21T15:46:00.001+00:002016-11-21T15:46:56.030+00:00Hatra lecture report<h1>Hatra - An Arab Kingdom in Roman Times</h1>
<h2>Professor Wathiq Ismail al-Salihi<br>
Wednesday 16 November 2016</h2>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eleanorrobson/7507202624/in/album-72157630432504468/" title="hatra facade"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7136/7507202624_f78cc43dfd_z.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="hatra facade"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>For a full house at the British Academy, Professor Wathiq Ismail al-Salihi gave a lecture in memory of Mohammed Ali Mustafa, the "sheikh of excavators in Iraq", sponsored by Dr Sabah and Mrs Sumaya Zangana.</p>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eleanorrobson/30974201202/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5662/30974201202_7cb36ab289_z.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt=""></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Professor Al-Salihi spoke for over an hour about the ancient city of Hatra, where he had previously directed the excavations of various monuments and buildings. Situated a good 100 km to the southwest of Mosul, Hatra is said to have been located along a relatively minor trade route and the existence of its tribal society depended on access to the available water resources through wells.</p>
<p>Throughout his talk Professor al-Salihi emphasised what he called the formidable fortifications of the city, whose defence system famously withstood the attacks of two Roman emperors, Trajan and Septimius Severus, before finally falling (around AD 240) to the Sasanians, who had established themselves as the major power in the region after defeating the Parthians. The circular walls were 3 m wide with mudbrick on foundations of hewn stone, and curtain walls of hewn limestone slabs were added. A large moat, 4-5 m deep and 8 m wide, surrounded Hatra. A bridge over the moat, supported by an arch, was leading to an entrance into the city. Close to the gate, the number of buttresses increased. According to later Arab authors, Hatra’s walls were protected by talismans. A gorgon head decorated the fortifications. A ballista (stone thrower) that was used in the defence against Severus was found near the North Gate.</p>
<p>In the gates, with their lateral opening, were niches containing statues of an apotropaic deity commonly identified as Heracles-Nergal. A relief of an eagle stood above legal texts concerning the death penalty as a punishment for theft: a thief from outside Hatra would be stoned to death, whereas a thief from within the city would die the enigmatic ‘death of the god’ (see also T. Kaizer, ‘Capital punishment at Hatra: gods, magistrates and laws in the Roman-Parthian period’, <i>Iraq</i> 68 (2006), p.139-153).</p>
<p>Many of Hatra’s monumental buildings were constructed during the long reign, in the first half of the second century AD, of the local lord Nasru. He left two images of himself, inscribed with his name, on the voussoirs of one of the iwans, the large vaulted structures that are so characteristic of Hatrene architecture and are dedicated to the members of the local triad (Maren - ‘Our Lord’; Marten - ‘Our Lady’; Bar-Maren - ‘the Son of Our Lord’) and to other deities such as Shahiru - the Morning Star. The later king Sanatruq, together with his son Abdsmya, was responsible for the magnificent temple of Allat. Musical scenes of what has been interpreted as Dionysiac ritual decorated the sanctuary on the inside. The two central reliefs depict the goddess herself. On the first, Allat is welcomed, riding on a camel, by a nymph holding a balance. On the second, the goddess is seated on the lever of this same balance, a symbol of her justice. King Sanatruq approaches the goddess, and a model of the temple is presented to her.</p>
<p>Fourteen shrines were excavated elsewhere in the city, including no.XII to Nebu and no.XIV to Nanai. Finally, Professor al-Salihi showed images of a mural painting found in the North Palace, which he interpreted as an image of Aphrodite at her bath, as inspired by the Sixth Homeric Hymn.</p>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eleanorrobson/30973634002/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5637/30973634002_cf30f6f2af_z.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Dr Lucinda Dirven thanks Professor Wathiq Al-Salihi at the end of the lecture"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Dr Lucinda Dirven of the University of Amsterdam, editor of an important recent volume on Hatra (L. Dirven (ed.), <i>Hatra. Politics, Culture and Religion between Parthia and Rome</i> [Oriens et Occidens 21] (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2013)), gave the vote of thanks.</p>
<p>Ted Kaizer, Durham University (ted.kaizer@durham.ac.uk)</p>
<p><i>Photos by Eleanor Robson</i></p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-45744282653309233292016-11-19T16:43:00.001+00:002016-11-19T16:43:46.392+00:00BISI Statement on Nimrud<p>Now that the Iraqi army has regained control of the ancient Assyrian capital city of Nimrud, the scale of the destruction by ISIS has become clear. It was known through an obscene propaganda video that in April 2015 the palace of Ashurnasirpal II, from the 9th century BC, with its contents of invaluable Assyrian reliefs was destroyed in a massive explosion. Now we learn that other buildings have been badly damaged and the ancient ziggurat has been levelled.</p>
<p>The British Institute for the Study of Iraq has a long association with Nimrud, having undertaken seminal excavations there from 1949 to 1963, and the President of BISI excavated there in 1989.</p>
<p>In this tragic situation BISI extends our greatest sympathy to our Iraqi friends and colleagues, and stands ready to provide any help that it can to the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.</p>
<p>To learn more about Nimrud and BISI's long-standing involvement with the site, please visit the <a href="http://oracc.org/nimrud">Nimrud Project</a> website.</p>
<p>Professor Eleanor Robson, Chair of Council<br>
Dr Paul Collins, Chair-elect of Council<br>
Dr John Curtis, President</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-33993497607148010222016-09-27T13:43:00.002+01:002016-09-27T13:49:28.518+01:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BISI is delighted to share this press release from the
Basrah Museum </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and the Friends of Basrah Museum:</span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A new museum celebrating the
rich cultural heritage of southern Iraq has opened its first gallery at a
ceremony in Basrah today. The gallery, which displays artefacts from the
Hellenistic period (c. 300 BC) through to the present, represents the first
major milestone in an eight-year project involving the Iraq Ministry of
Culture, the State Board of Antiquities and Friends of Basra Museum, a UK-based
charity which was set up in 2010 to provide financial, project management and
curatorial support to the museum. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The new Basrah Museum is housed in the
former Lakeside Palace in a park by the Shatt Al Arab. It will be a major
cultural resource, not only for the city of Basrah but also for Southern Iraq
and the wider region. Galleries will focus on the area’s archaeology and
history from prehistory down to the development of Basrah as a major trading
port (from which Sinbad the Sailor is said to have set sail), renowned as a
centre of scholarship, education, poetry and music. <span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">‘This is a great day for
Iraq’s cultural heritage,’ said Minister of Culture </span>Faryad Raundozi<span lang="EN-GB">. ‘It is an
important example of how the international community can work with Iraqi
experts and institutions to improve the way we conserve, celebrate and protect
our past.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chairman of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage Qais Rasheed
said: ‘We are delighted that Basrah now has a museum which can properly tell
the story of this great city’s past. We will continue to add more artefacts to
the exhibition and to build our collaboration with international organisations
to better understand the region’s archaeological sites and to improve the
training and support for researchers and students’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Director of Basrah Antiquities
and Heritage, Qahtan Alabeed said: ‘This is a very special day for us. It
couldn’t have come about without the support of a great number of people –
especially the Friends of Basrah Museum and their principal funders BP. I also
want to acknowledge the dedication of colleagues in Baghdad and Basrah, which
means we’re able to display many exhibits in public for the first time in
years.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">British Ambassador Frank Baker
said: ‘The Basrah Museum reminds us of the depth of the history of Iraq, and
the great achievements of its people. It is also an example of what the UK and
Iraq can achieve when they work together – so much time and energy has been put
in by the Friends of Basrah Museum to reach this stage. My team and I look
forward to visiting over the coming weeks, to see its use as a cultural and
educational centre.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sir Terence Clark Chairman of
the Trustees of the FOBM, said: ‘This is the culmination of years of quiet
persistence on the part of the Trustees and the Museum staff. All of us at FOBM
recognise the global importance of Iraq’s cultural heritage and have been
determined to do what we can to support those in Iraq who are working to see it
properly managed.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">BP
was the principal donor to the project, with a grant of $500,000. Michael
Townshend, BP Middle East’s Regional President, said: “In every region in which
BP operates we look to support and protect the local culture and heritage. When
we were approached to support the establishment of this new museum for Basrah,
we wanted to help. We are glad that the people of Basrah will now have a museum
which celebrates their rich cultural history.”</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The opening is followed by a
two-day conference at the museum, organised by the British Institute for the
Study of Iraq. After that, work will continue on the refurbishment of the rest
of the museum. </span>It
is hoped that it will set a standard for the whole country, with facilities for
school parties and contents tied to the Iraqi national curriculum. New
educational<span lang="EN-GB"> programmes, supported by the British Council, will be introduced in
October to local schoolchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Editorial
note<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Friends of Basrah Museum is a
UK-registered charity established in 2010 to raise funds for the Basrah Museum
and to provide support to its Director, Qahtan Alabeed. The trustees are Sir
Terence Clark, Dr John Curtis, Liane Butcher, Clare Bebbington, Dr Lamia
al-Gailani, Dr Salah al-Shaikly and the Hon Alice Walpole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As well as FOBM and BP, the
project has been supported by The British Institute for the Study of Iraq; The
British Museum; Petrofac; The Charlotte Bonham Charitable Trust; HWH
Associates; Bur Alaman; IPBD Ltd; Control Risks Group; Field Energy Services;
Pulse Brands; and private individuals. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">FOR
MORE INFORMATION<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clare Bebbington, Friends of
Basrah Museum – tel: +44 7403006106</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223178147927755037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-30449398148979540592016-07-06T13:18:00.001+01:002016-07-06T15:08:53.156+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
Joint submission to the Chilcot Enquiry</h1>
<p>Back in January-February 2010, Peter Stone of <a href="http://ukblueshield.org.uk/">UK Blue Shield</a> co-ordinated a joint submission to the Chilcot Enquiry. The submission is referred to in <a href="http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/media/246516/the-report-of-the-iraq-inquiry_section-62.pdf">paragraphs 801-826 of the Chilcot Report</a>, published today, but I can't find it on the <a href="www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/">Iraq Inquiry website</a>. As a contributor to, and editor of, that report (though not a signatory — I was Vice-Chair of BISI's council at the time), and as it was always meant to be a public document, I thought I'd post it here, along with the cover letter and press release issued with it, on 17 February 2010.<p/>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5JS5BUaG-mOMFJjZGFKUUxYVGc/view?usp=sharing">Press Release from UKNC and others</a></li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5JS5BUaG-mOeFluY1N2Qi1yRjQ/view?usp=sharing">Evidence from UKNC and others</a></li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5JS5BUaG-mOcUtreS1PNldiVzQ/view?usp=sharing">Cover Letter from UKNC and others</a></li>
</ul>
<p>These documents were submitted on behalf of:<br />
<ul>
<li>UK National Commission for UNESCO</li>
<li>British Academy</li>
<li>British Institute for the Study of Iraq</li>
<li>Council for British Archaeology</li>
<li>European Association of Archaeologists</li>
<li>Institute for Archaeologists</li>
<li>International Council on Monuments and Sites UK</li>
<li>International Council of Museums UK</li>
<li>Museums Association</li>
<li>National Trust</li>
<li>Nautical Archaeology Society</li>
<li>Society of Antiquaries of London</li>
<li>UK & Ireland Committee of the Blue Shield.</li>
</ul>
</div>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-82236595221284385382016-05-06T12:18:00.000+01:002016-05-18T09:57:54.624+01:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Investigations at
Alexandria-on-the-Tigris, aka Charax Spasinou</b> </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Robert Killick was awarded a <a href="http://www.bisi.ac.uk/content/academic-grants">BISI Research Grant</a> to
conduct </i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a;">preliminary
investigations at Charax Spasinou. You can find out about the first season of
survey in the report below.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Few names from the ancient world
resonate quite so loudly in the modern era as that of Alexander the Great. When
in spring 2015 we were invited by the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage
to work at a city founded by Alexander, we could scarcely refuse. One year on,
we have just completed our first season of survey at Alexandria-on-the-Tigris,
known later as Charax Spasinou. That we were able to respond so swiftly to the
request is entirely due to the generous support of, among others, Baron Lorne
Thyssen-Bornemisza<b> </b>at the Augustus Foundation, the State Board for
Antiquities and Heritage, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and, of course,
BISI itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_XotuEn-7cc6ZS7VRCK4AO-mUhqwVlGsXowSz0k8X2Px1O0C4PqZs-_-IcLUb1GvXb2A9pOHv2TlrnAhYpp5mdpUkaFiljOVvu0ddoxS3ZhMJVz7NR1U2mceSS6PG4fPuBmNnA9h584/s1600/01_Ramparts+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_XotuEn-7cc6ZS7VRCK4AO-mUhqwVlGsXowSz0k8X2Px1O0C4PqZs-_-IcLUb1GvXb2A9pOHv2TlrnAhYpp5mdpUkaFiljOVvu0ddoxS3ZhMJVz7NR1U2mceSS6PG4fPuBmNnA9h584/s400/01_Ramparts+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along the ramparts at Charax Spasinou</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alexander sailed down the Eulaeus
River from Susa in 324BC, and came to its confluence with the Tigris. At that
time, access to open water and the Gulf was also close by. The strategic
advantage of the place was obvious, and so Alexandria-on-the-Tigris was
founded. Unfortunately, Alexander didn’t realise just how prone to flooding the
entire region was (and in fact remained so until the construction of the
Hindiya Barrage in the 1950s). After devastating floods, the city was twice
re-founded, once as Antiochia in 166BC and again in 141BC as Charax Spasinou.
As the latter, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Characene and a major
trading emporium, exchanging goods with India, Palmyra, Petra, and onwards to
Rome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The remains of Charax Spasinou
(modern Khayaber) lie some 40 km north of Basra. The ramparts rise to four
metres above the plain, complete with bastions at regular intervals. To the
south, the old course of the Eulaeus River is clearly visible and we estimate
that the remains of the city are spread over an area of about five square
kilometres. Debris from the Iraq-Iran war still litters the archaeological site
and some areas have been badly disturbed by old military installations.
Erosion, agricultural activity and looting continue to be threats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Working at such a large site
presents some interesting challenges. How do you survey and map such a large
area, for example? Even with our modern surveying instruments, this would be a
lengthy and arduous task. Fortunately, the use of a drone combined with mapping
software provided a solution. Flying at a height of 100 metres, our drone took
5,000 photographs over nine days, covering an area of some eight square
kilometres. These images are now being compiled into a digital elevation model
which will be used to generate topographical maps, including a contour map and
shaded relief maps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finding out how much archaeology
is left at Charax after two thousand years of repeated flooding was another
challenge. Here geophysics came to our rescue: armed with a caesium
magnetometer, one of the world’s leading experts, Dr Joerg Fassbinder, with his
team from the University of Munich, surveyed over eight hectares in ten days.
The results were beyond expectations: entire districts of the city were
revealed below the surface, including substantial public buildings and
residential houses. The orthogonal plan produced by the survey clearly reflects
the original lay-out of the Hellenistic city, one which was retained in
succeeding periods. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuqmyf40kJg4qU6OONputjdF2D1VSN9dOPrn3UzzMFSHc_jtFU5SWywjBPDJfT9jtHy5d0oZ7ROoChMnP16KGbGeKRW1tahDhCH7fQgmfzmUs4xOuaUFWgR2dJubV9Kad63CtryIw10k/s1600/02_Charax_survey+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuqmyf40kJg4qU6OONputjdF2D1VSN9dOPrn3UzzMFSHc_jtFU5SWywjBPDJfT9jtHy5d0oZ7ROoChMnP16KGbGeKRW1tahDhCH7fQgmfzmUs4xOuaUFWgR2dJubV9Kad63CtryIw10k/s400/02_Charax_survey+copy.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hellenistic town grid and large buildings are clearly visible on this geophysics plot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An evaluation trench placed
across one of the district boundaries found a ditch with mud-brick walls
running parallel on both sides. A puzzling feature was a row of Parthian torpedo
jars set upside-down in a solid layer of clay. The tips of the bases had been deliberately
and neatly cut away, leaving entry holes at the top. Two further evaluation
trenches found walls belonging to two of the large buildings that showed most
clearly in the magnetometer survey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVu0x2_kpjAZjom-qumexx6rmTCmdYl9msoVA2dxlDFitQyrsPw98GgEWzLJQoOibxfyJmCLB47R7vP6_-hFcyIl-b6peC6IUNJsBVAO0AUkwp6pYD1AdPA9XFkT9CVy1BWYpb4R9oOek/s1600/03_Torpedo+jars+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVu0x2_kpjAZjom-qumexx6rmTCmdYl9msoVA2dxlDFitQyrsPw98GgEWzLJQoOibxfyJmCLB47R7vP6_-hFcyIl-b6peC6IUNJsBVAO0AUkwp6pYD1AdPA9XFkT9CVy1BWYpb4R9oOek/s320/03_Torpedo+jars+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A row of Parthian torpedo jars lining a ditch </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The logistical challenges of
working at Charax are substantial, but these preliminary results have more than
repaid the effort. Our mission for the future will be to implement a comprehensive
research and excavation strategy that will do justice to this important
Alexandrian city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Robert Killick<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Honorary Fellow, Manchester University</i></span></div>
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223178147927755037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-78831370941607244312016-02-02T07:44:00.000+00:002016-02-02T07:44:07.981+00:00Cultural Protection Fund: a positive ministerial response<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRdrjhjMI8AYy7W47Pqdq6mnOGc0e-CFxYPwEY-zl_8QxVXz4vG4pVzj7kUtaUH_U_YDVtynq057_PJAts6n10DNUe8y1dt5uST_JR_Io_RDUj9i3V5slXXN0GLNizfcfQS8dJHOy4UQ/s1600/vaizey-2016-02-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRdrjhjMI8AYy7W47Pqdq6mnOGc0e-CFxYPwEY-zl_8QxVXz4vG4pVzj7kUtaUH_U_YDVtynq057_PJAts6n10DNUe8y1dt5uST_JR_Io_RDUj9i3V5slXXN0GLNizfcfQS8dJHOy4UQ/s320/vaizey-2016-02-01.png" /></a></div><p>I'm happy to report that we've received a reply to <a href="http://www.bisi1932.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/open-letter-to-uk-culture-secretary.html">the collective letter sent last November</a>, which outlined BISI's, and others' views on how the government's proposed Cultural Protection Fund should work, in support of the UK's promised ratification of Hague 1954.<p>
<p>The letter, written by Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, reads in full:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Thank you for letter of 24 November 2015 to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sports, The Rt Hon John Whittingdale MP. I am responding as the Minister responsible for this policy area and I apologise for the delay in replying.</p>
<p>We are delighted to receive you and your colleagues’ support for our plans to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention and its two protocols, and for the Cultural Protection Fund.</p>
<p>The Department is firmly committed to introducing new legislation to enable the UK to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention and its two Protocols at the earliest opportunity. We believe that doing so will ensure the UK and its cultural experts and practitioners in the field are seen to be not only serious about cultural protection, but world leaders in this area.</p>
<p>On 25 November 2015, as part of the Spending Review, we were delighted that the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £30million in Official Development Assistance funding for the establishment of our Cultural Protection Fund. Planning is currently underway towards implementing the Fund with the expectation of accepting grant applications in the spring.</p>
<p>We have sent out our consultation document to you and your co-signatories, and would warmly welcome your views on the Cultural Protection Fund. Your expertise would help inform its further development. In addition, we are holding a stakeholder workshop on 11 February which I believe a number of your co-signatories are attending.</p>
<p>I have taken Peter Stone’s points and your support of them into serious consideration - and it is precisely such strategic thinking and expertise which we are seeking with our consultation. I agree entirely with the principles behind the points on combatting duplication of effort; on the need for training; proactive prevention; emergency response; and long term support. These points cohere with the principles of the Fund as outlined in our consultation document, and correspond with the outcomes I announced at the Cultural Protection Summit of 28 October 2015, namely: cultural heritage protection, training, and advocacy and education. Indeed, the British Museum’s Iraqi Rescue Archaeology Programme, a pilot programme of the Fund, is already adhering to these aims, and we will be encouraging grant applications from other programmes and organisations who can provide services pursuant to these outcomes.</p>
<p>We will be providing further information about the Cultural Protection Fund and on the Government’s approach to ratifying the Hague Convention in the spring of this year.</p>
<p>Thank you again for your support and your offer of assistance in this area. I do very much hope that you will respond to our consultation document and am delighted that some of the signatories have made to time to come along to our workshops.</p>
<p>Best wishes,</p>
<p>Ed Vaizey MP<br/>
Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy</p></blockquote>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-12283643572361544652015-12-09T11:03:00.001+00:002015-12-09T11:03:16.043+00:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BISI Student Poster
Competition 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interview with the
Winner – Daniel Calderbank <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BISI
held its first Student Poster Competition in autumn 2015 for UK undergraduate
and postgraduate students, engaged in the study of the lands and peoples of
Iraq. First prize went to Daniel Calderbank, a PhD student at Manchester
University, for his poster on ‘<b>Everyday Life in the Babylonian ‘Dark Age’:
new ceramic evidence from Tell Khaiber, southern Iraq.’ </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A bit about you
first, Daniel! Where are you studying, and what stage are you at in your research?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m a PhD student
with the Archaeology department at The University of Manchester, and am
currently part way through my second year of a three and a half year project.
My research is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How did you
become interested in studying ancient Iraq?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first encounter
with the archaeology of ancient Iraq came in an undergraduate seminar titled <i>The
Origins of Urbanism</i>, led by my now supervisor Prof. Stuart Campbell. The
focus of the seminar was the site of Uruk, widely held as the world’s first
true city. I remember being astonished by the rapid development of the site,
reaching an incomprehensible scale by the late 4th millennium BC, almost a
whole millennium prior to the construction of the British monuments, such as
Stonehenge and Avebury, with which I was at that time most familiar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At that point, I
could hardly have envisaged myself setting foot on the famous mounds of the
Eanna Precinct. Having the opportunity to visit Uruk in 2014 was an experience
that truly reawakened those early feelings of astonishment and wonder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYxhJQ-kZHlpX9Us8itDZVftyO5E6TsQBlob1_yZ0snp8i21dJcE3KYOtZ7izhe_1pAjcEayAokXKZZjPAPV7WyT1jOcLujy02gSAtzNQKGssFMUxZEnlAK1rm8Q1zDBA9Fycgu1WgdM/s1600/uruk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYxhJQ-kZHlpX9Us8itDZVftyO5E6TsQBlob1_yZ0snp8i21dJcE3KYOtZ7izhe_1pAjcEayAokXKZZjPAPV7WyT1jOcLujy02gSAtzNQKGssFMUxZEnlAK1rm8Q1zDBA9Fycgu1WgdM/s400/uruk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Eanna Precinct from the ruins of the Uruk ziggurat Photo: Mary Shepperson</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Could you tell
us a bit about your research project?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mesopotamian
history can often read like a narrative of grand politics, with one power
succeeding another in endless procession. The site of Tell Khaiber, situated
20km southeast of Ur, accordingly occupies a period of widespread political
instability, punctuated by the collapse of the First Babylonian Dynasty and the
emergence of the elusive Sealand Dynasty (c.1600-1400 BC).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In an
archaeological climate traditionally consumed by such top-down accounts, my
research looks to interpret the more situated, everyday lives of the Khaiber inhabitants.
I contend that a functionally driven analysis of 2<sup>nd</sup> millennium
pottery can provide a unique basis from which to reconstruct the everyday
patterns of behaviour that animated Babylonian social life. By identifying
episodes of routine and more specialised food and drink consumption, I hope to
articulate the ways in which past identities were created, performed,
maintained, and manipulated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oouVeYWpui0cgE4SwPW4AWJ1YMvLq_G97ZdyulSq8j4Os3JLCbtlNiabBGZSk78CSoHV2sg1TBvMkQ4nna-3yjzc2W49nLkEhctQW3jDhC0Ag02OkKhhvZqZayLRFFjLkr5ExFl-r9s/s1600/on+site+with+professor+campbell.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oouVeYWpui0cgE4SwPW4AWJ1YMvLq_G97ZdyulSq8j4Os3JLCbtlNiabBGZSk78CSoHV2sg1TBvMkQ4nna-3yjzc2W49nLkEhctQW3jDhC0Ag02OkKhhvZqZayLRFFjLkr5ExFl-r9s/s400/on+site+with+professor+campbell.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excavating a double-pot burial with Prof Stuart Campbell Photo: Jane Moon</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What did you
find the most challenging aspect of making your poster?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trickiest
aspect was unquestionably striking the right balance between images and text.
As PhD researchers, we are often programmed to communicate in words, especially
when explaining our complex methodologies. When designing something
eye-catching, however, this tendency must be curbed. Of course, the indirect
benefit of this is that it <i>forces</i> one to be concise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you have any
tips for people thinking about studying Iraq?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Iraq is a
wonderfully diverse country, topographically, demographically, and archaeologically.
I would urge any prospective student to talk with as many people familiar with
the country as possible, whether that is people who have lived and worked
there, or people who simply observe it from afar. By immersing yourself in
Iraq’s culture, you will no doubt develop a great appreciation for its past!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>BISI’s
Student Poster Competition aims to offer UK students the opportunity to present
and discuss the innovative and creative research that they are undertaking with
both the academic community and the wider public and to raise the profile of their research. We welcome applications from
the full range of arts, humanities and social sciences subjects, covering any
time period, from prehistory to the present day.</i> </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To find out more and to sign up to receive updates about future
competitions, please contact the BISI Administrator on <a href="mailto:bisi@britac.ac.uk">bisi@britac.ac.uk</a></span> </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223178147927755037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-24876940245488985622015-11-24T22:20:00.001+00:002015-11-24T22:20:12.445+00:00Open letter to the UK Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<p>In the latest round of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ukblueshield/?fref=ts">UK Blue Shield</a>-BISI campaign for the
ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention, today I sent the
following open letter to UK Culture Secretary <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/john-whittingdale">John Whittingdale</a>,
encouraging him to act on the announcement he made last June.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWRUoxjwE4klZp8b1-Ah3u_KK8P1L0ibpaTa2UiPbbtd3Lbp5KOjzyGeupJQy8H4uZfYKUZFsUHM-BmfcYj4W_ifuKtbZQJS3nDb7c3zF0F_4PglfigvK0gMiT3uVaiDCvFRkvkSoK7g/s1600/whittingdale-letter.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWRUoxjwE4klZp8b1-Ah3u_KK8P1L0ibpaTa2UiPbbtd3Lbp5KOjzyGeupJQy8H4uZfYKUZFsUHM-BmfcYj4W_ifuKtbZQJS3nDb7c3zF0F_4PglfigvK0gMiT3uVaiDCvFRkvkSoK7g/s320/whittingdale-letter.tiff" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
<p>Rt Hon John Whittingdale<br/>
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport</p>
<p>November 2015</p>
<p>Dear Mr Whittingdale</p>
<p><b>Ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention<br/>
and the UK Cultural Property Protection Fund</b></p>
<p>As representatives of some of the UK's leading cultural heritage
organisations we, the undersigned, were delighted when last June the
Government publicly announced its decision to ratify the <b>1954 Hague
Convention</b> for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of
Armed Conflict and its associated protocols. This legislation will
give enormous support to the Armed Forces’ ambitions to support
local communities in the areas in which it is militarily
engaged.</p>
<p>We are also hugely supportive of the Government's intention to
create a <b>Cultural Property Protection Fund</b>, as announced in the same
press release. In particular we endorse the proposal that has
already been put to you by Peter Stone, UNESCO Professor of Culture
Property Protection and Peace at Newcastle University, Chair of the
UK Committee of the Blue Shield and cultural property advisor to the
UK Government during the Iraq War of 2003. He recommends that the
Fund be concentrated on five areas of activity, namely:</p>
<ul>
<li>
A <b>co-ordination centre</b>, with a staff of three or four, to act as a practical hub for networking, liaison, and communication for the complex web of academic, NGO professional, governmental, and military expertise in the area, to ensure minimal reduplication of effort. This is, in our opinion, <b>the top priority for funding</b> now.</li>
<li><b>Training</b> for individuals and organisations in the practicalities of Cultural Property Protection, facilitated by the co-ordination centre.</li>
<li>Developing and implementing procedures for <b>proactive protection</b> of Cultural Property for countries such as Lebanon, which are at under real risk, where proactive protection could be implemented now and from which international guidelines could be developed.</li>
<li><b>Emergency response</b> protocols to deliver rapid, specialised assessment and initial conservation first aid to countries suffering from conflict or environmental disaster.</li>
<li><b>Long-term support</b> for Cultural Property in post-conflict and
post-disaster zones, such as post- earthquake Nepal.</li>
</ul>
<p>We thank you again for all your efforts to make the UK a leader in international Cultural Property Protection and look forward to concrete news soon of the parliamentary schedule for ratification, and of the budget and remit of the Cultural Property Fund. We would be happy to be of assistance in any way we can.</p>
<p>Yours sincerely,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Professor Eleanor Robson<br/>
Chair of Council<br/>
British Institute for the Study of Iraq</p>
<p>Dr Mike Heyworth, MBE<br/>
Director<br/>
Council for British Archaeology</p>
<p>Mr Peter Hinton<br/>
Chief Executive<br/>
Chartered Institute of Archaeologists</p>
<p>Ms Sharon Heal<br/>
Director<br/>
Museums Association</p>
<p>Ms Kate Pugh, OBE<br/>
Chief Executive<br/>
The Heritage Alliance</p>
<p>Mr Julian Radcliffe<br/>
Chairman<br/>
The Art Loss Register</p>
<p>Dr Neil Brodie<br/>
Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research<br/>
University of Glasgow</p>
<p>Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe<br/>
Emeritus Professor of European Archaeology<br/>
University of Oxford</p>
<p>Mr Philip Deans<br/>
Doctoral Research Student<br/>
School of Arts and Cultures <br/>
Newcastle University</p>
<p>Dr Paul Fox<br/>
University of York</p>
<p>Dr Nigel Pollard<br/>
Associate Professor of Ancient History<br/>
Swansea University</p>
<p>Mr Robert Bevan<br/>
Architecture Critic of The Evening Standard</p>
<p>Dr Bijan Rouhani<br/>
Vice Chair<br/>
ICOMOS Working Group on Syria and Iraq</p>
<p>Mr Peter A. Clayton<br/>
Member of the Treasure Valuation
Committee<br/>
The British Museum</p>
<p>Dr Robert Bewley<br/>
Project Director<br/>
Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa Project<br/>
University of Oxford</p>
<p>Professor Graham Philip<br/>
Department of Archaeology<br/>
Durham University</p></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p>You'll also find this letter on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-British-Institute-for-the-Study-of-Iraq-BISI/366904223359895?fref=ts">Facebook pages</a> and Twitter
feeds of UKBS and BISI,
for you to like and share. You're equally welcome to redistribute it
in any other convenient way, but please let us know, for the record
if you so.</p>
<p>As always, I'll post an update as soon as I have news.</p>
</div>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-21670390372743980232015-08-05T15:35:00.000+01:002015-08-05T15:35:20.147+01:00<h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remembering Gertrude Bell</span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8viTrvGl3Hnu9tQer9nKw-5WKkpIGZpjeupMD6LGQE9QcXb2oe6ftBDQZUH8stxjD44Lz-IbrNZGHAF6mFLbmCT03i57YhsubbbzcMcyq_2LAib7MDkbdRBxfCBctvlG5Utdza4W1j0/s1600/flowers+laid+by+Belinda+Lewis+on+Gertrude+Bells+grave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8viTrvGl3Hnu9tQer9nKw-5WKkpIGZpjeupMD6LGQE9QcXb2oe6ftBDQZUH8stxjD44Lz-IbrNZGHAF6mFLbmCT03i57YhsubbbzcMcyq_2LAib7MDkbdRBxfCBctvlG5Utdza4W1j0/s400/flowers+laid+by+Belinda+Lewis+on+Gertrude+Bells+grave.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Last month Belinda Lewis, <span lang="EN-GB">Charge d'Affaires, </span><span lang="EN-GB">British Embassy Baghdad paid a visit to Gertrude Bell's grave in Baghdad, leaving a tribute from BISI and the British Embassy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">BISI was founded in memory of Gertrude Bell in 1932. An explorer and archaeologist, Bell was instrumental in the foundation of the Iraq Museum.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">BISI joined forces with the British Academy in 2013 to hold a conference examining the many facets of Bell's legacy in Iraq, including her role in the making of the Iraqi state. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">At the <a href="http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/">Gertrude Bell Archive, Newcastle University</a>, you can read Bell's digitised diaries and letters, and her beautiful photographs from her travels in Iraq and the Middle East. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg87EG_DkcPVrA8OQC9R8pg6gn_WKFPD9x0sBnuqTBZaWTmx7kDOpwTY8D5nT7KXETkZZGFJnEZa-_CrYWZBaMEIKNnBOn2VmnJeB6e8DipaJpkTiISpGX2MDFDSDKYDobcp7By2k2CmM/s1600/Belinda+Lewis+with+the+cemetery+caretaker+who+has+tended+to+Gertrude+Bells+grave+since+1940s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg87EG_DkcPVrA8OQC9R8pg6gn_WKFPD9x0sBnuqTBZaWTmx7kDOpwTY8D5nT7KXETkZZGFJnEZa-_CrYWZBaMEIKNnBOn2VmnJeB6e8DipaJpkTiISpGX2MDFDSDKYDobcp7By2k2CmM/s400/Belinda+Lewis+with+the+cemetery+caretaker+who+has+tended+to+Gertrude+Bells+grave+since+1940s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belinda Lewis with the care-taker who has tended the cemetery <br />where Gertrude Bell is buried since the 1940s</td></tr>
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223178147927755037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-91652973648591418582015-07-09T12:43:00.001+01:002015-07-09T12:43:37.739+01:00<div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Looted in Syria - and sold in London:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> the British antiques shops dealing in artefacts smuggled by ISIS </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BISI Trustee, Dr Mark Atlaweel goes under cover with the <i>Guardian</i> to hunt for 'blood antiquities' in London dealerships. Relics from the ruins of Palmyra and Nimrud are now on display in British shops - and so far no-one has worked out how to stop it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Read the full article by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/03/antiquities-looted-by-isis-end-up-in-london-shops">Rachel Shabi </a></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan8lNfzy504UsRRyaj6TvT491Cc4qUAlYbxpiZXqu9ggZXxm3gbA4G8V4B1dTxP1xHYVPzI8t-O39mPDpbLTMYpEM3CecKDiiTNDFj06IUNJViy4L8wh2VyFdtHEAC4WWBEAerup2hjo/s1600/photo+of+dr+mark+altaweel.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan8lNfzy504UsRRyaj6TvT491Cc4qUAlYbxpiZXqu9ggZXxm3gbA4G8V4B1dTxP1xHYVPzI8t-O39mPDpbLTMYpEM3CecKDiiTNDFj06IUNJViy4L8wh2VyFdtHEAC4WWBEAerup2hjo/s400/photo+of+dr+mark+altaweel.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Mark Altaweel BISI Trustee and Lecturer in Near Eastern Archaeology at UCL </td></tr>
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223178147927755037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-46392783318553053782015-06-24T15:50:00.004+01:002015-06-24T15:52:07.426+01:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 4pt 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4<sup>th</sup>
BABYLON FESTIVAL FOR INTERNATIONAL CULTURES AND ARTS <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Richard Dumbrill was awarded a <a href="http://www.bisi.ac.uk/content/academic-grants">BISI Conference Grant</a> in 2015 to attend the 4th Babylon Festival for International Cultures and Arts. You can read about the event in the report below. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New Babylon Festivals (Babylon
Foundation) were initiated four years ago by Dr Ali ash-Shallah, MP for the
province of Babylon, presently Director of Media for the Republic of Iraq, and
an acclaimed poet.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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There is no relation whatsoever between the Babylon Festivals organised
by Saddam Hussein and the present occurrences. The new festivals include
international cultural exchanges, devoid of any propagandist events, and
integrate all forms of the arts and cultures without any political, religious,
or other dictates. It is all about peace, human rights, gender equality,
reconciliation. One of the objectives of the festivals is the inclusion of the
site of Babylon in the UNESCO World Heritage List from which, astonishingly, it
has been excluded to this day.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Babylon Foundation which organise the Babylon Festival also work
actively in the restoration of 'Abbasid, and Ottoman architecture and have just
completed the reconstruction of a typical late Ottoman house in Old Baghdad
(Abu Nuwas) which is now the site of concerts, exhibitions as well as offering
accommodation for international students, scholars and artists.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The main events of the festival take place in the 'neo-hellenistic'
theatre at the site of Babylon where around 1,500 spectators gather for both
opening and closing evenings. All other events take place either in the museum
courtyard at the site of Babylon, at a school at Hillah and in other local
theatres. Participants of the festival are usually hosted in the palatial
infrastructures built, in the gardens of Babylon just below Saddam Hussein’s
outrageous palace built on top of an artificial tell. The well-worn apartments
are still furnished with Husseinian taste. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Babylon Festivals are covered by the Iraqi national and other TV
channels and by the daily local and national press. The Festivals are highly
regarded throughout the country and appease differences through a shared
culture. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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One of the main concerns with the Babylon festivals is funding which is
a difficult task in a country at war, and where the conservation of culture is
felt as a luxury that people cannot afford. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The BISI grant enabled myself, Ahmed Mukhtar (Oud master) and Dr John
Macginnis (Current BISI Council Member) to travel to the festival to give a
lecture to students of archaeology of Babylon University, in the museum yard at
the site of Babylon and we were invited by the chancellor of the university,
Professor al- Baghdadi, to speak at the main lecture theatre of the university
which was packed with professors and students. The event was presented on
national television.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The focus of my talk was on the contribution of
Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian theory of music, to the development of
Western music.</span><br />
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During the Akkadian Period, mathematical cuneiform texts excavated at
the Temple Library of Nippur, by Wolfram Hilprecht at the beginning of the
twentieth century and dated from about 2300 BC, showed lists of regular
numbers* extracted from the sexagesimal mathematical system. These numbers gave
values to the nine notes of the Akkadian scale: 36; 40; 45; 48; 54; 60; 64; 72
and 81. Most interestingly these numbers can be taken as units of string
lengths or reciprocally as units of frequency. The ratios which they generate
between them, that is 40/36, can be converted into musical cents, a method
developed in the late nineteenth century by Alexander John Ellis, from an
earlier eighteenth century method devised by the French scientist Prosnier.
40/36 = 182 cents which is the minor tone; 45/40 = 204 cents which is the just
major tone and 48/45 = 112, which is the semitone. These numbers which were
conceptualised over 4,000 years ago give the exact values of the harmonic, or
natural scale, a scale which was invented about 1,500 years before Pythagoras
was born. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Old Babylonian period produced a tablet excavated from the site of
Ur by Sir Leonard Woolley. (Fig. 1) This text is a method by which nine
different scales, or sets, can be generated from a fundamental set by simple re-arrangement
of some of the pitches in each set. The resulting scales have been wrongly
named 'modes' by some scholars, for reasons which are beyond the purpose of
this short text. Other texts were written during the Assyrian period, in the
first millennium, but would have been copies of much earlier Babylonian
originals. These texts give the names of intervals of fifths and thirds which
were the forerunners of the Arabian Ajnas of the Maqam system. Another
cuneiform text of unknown provenance, hosted at the University Museum of
Philadelphia (Fig. 2) has the earliest evidence for the construction of a
heptatonic scale system of eight 'modes' in all points similar to the seven
liturgical 'modes' of our Western Middle Ages. The tablet has a drawing etched
onto it describing a tuning device consisting of two discs rotating one against
the other to generate the seven modes based on the heptatonic system. (Fig 3)
This tablet is the earliest evidence of the construction of a heptatonic scale
by means of alternation of fifths and fourths, much before Euclid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHXeDX9dKlAbw_7j1M-nYLIhMwp828LJYv-Z75AaF7nJRq61jfhoQNAm7nzsEDeZ_q_jdPVdyh8so8Hj_XGXGdYwvgCVaSh0Fh49cYBmC5s3GH-oYTm35a9Wk86JhENoDw_AfE1c61Ak/s1600/Fig1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHXeDX9dKlAbw_7j1M-nYLIhMwp828LJYv-Z75AaF7nJRq61jfhoQNAm7nzsEDeZ_q_jdPVdyh8so8Hj_XGXGdYwvgCVaSh0Fh49cYBmC5s3GH-oYTm35a9Wk86JhENoDw_AfE1c61Ak/s320/Fig1.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fig.1</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJYUQdERgIyTa-LlAQi7RJbkfJ6EI7ft3dhYdP-VDhxm8xuAqqE_GTZuT_V9j2GYqyq7w5MGMtiIl_dZMe1AZ0YEUdklPGX68WvqzJFOmzveDS09oZ3XKYJRiocLPRHrSWy4t_cm_bxk/s1600/fig2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJYUQdERgIyTa-LlAQi7RJbkfJ6EI7ft3dhYdP-VDhxm8xuAqqE_GTZuT_V9j2GYqyq7w5MGMtiIl_dZMe1AZ0YEUdklPGX68WvqzJFOmzveDS09oZ3XKYJRiocLPRHrSWy4t_cm_bxk/s320/fig2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fig.2 </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqi2EpORRL_ovo7xLHrpoUaDfhZP_7thqnXrCekGbxONNUNtGNJVxGT83Y6rCuuhZXNkxiZ1H2VvBWzB63ZXOqqGbxpnNku7QDAguqBDe7ykuQIy2Fr-IkJS08_S4W-Bz_FuqqBT54jA/s1600/fig3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqi2EpORRL_ovo7xLHrpoUaDfhZP_7thqnXrCekGbxONNUNtGNJVxGT83Y6rCuuhZXNkxiZ1H2VvBWzB63ZXOqqGbxpnNku7QDAguqBDe7ykuQIy2Fr-IkJS08_S4W-Bz_FuqqBT54jA/s320/fig3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fig 3.</span></td></tr>
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It has become evident that Greek scholars having visited the city of
Babylon from the eighth century BC, to study, during what is called the
Orientalizing Period, and brought back to Athens the Babylonian system which
further spread to the West in the course of time, and ended up in the
liturgical systems of Christendom, as well as in the Synagogues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richard Dumbrill <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Director of the International
Conference of Near and Middle Eastern Archaeomusicology &<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Advisory Board Member of the Babylon
Foundation</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223178147927755037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-34498439676143175282015-06-21T08:55:00.002+01:002015-06-21T08:55:53.693+01:00UK government to ratify #Hague1954!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<p>I'm delighted to report that the UK goverment issued a press release today announcing <a href="http://ukblueshield.org.uk/british-government-announces-plans-to-ratify-the-1954-hague-convention/">its intention to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention</a> on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.</p>
<p>
So many people have been involved in UK Blue Shield and BISI's campaign to bring this about — not least every single person who has written to their MP expressing their concern. Thank you everyone! </p>
</div>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-50660307317147277852015-05-18T12:49:00.001+01:002015-05-18T13:03:16.241+01:00Help us get #Hague1954 ratified in the UK!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<p>Following the UK General Election on 8 May, BISI is supporting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ukblueshield">UK Blue Shield's new campaign</a> to persuade Parliament to ratify the <a href="http://www.ancbs.org/cms/en/about-us/hague-convention">1954 Hague Convention</a> as soon as possible.</p>
<p>It's <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/inquiring-after-hague-convention.html">been a long slog</a>: every government agrees in principle but none gets around to putting it into practice. Let's make it happen now!</p>
<p>Please get involved by writing to your recently (re-)elected MP asking them to take up ratification at the earliest possible opportunity.</p>
<p>Here is <a href="#letter">a draft letter</a> that you can simply send to your MP, or that can be adapted as necessary, and <a href="#key">a list of bullet points</a> if you would prefer to write your own letter. They were drafted by Professor Peter Stone, the Chair of UK Blue Shield.</p>
<p>If you do not know the name of your MP or how to contact them, you can <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/">find their details on the UK Parliament website</a>. If you would like to write to your local newspaper that would be wonderful as well.</p>
<p>To help us keep track of the campaign, please tell us when you write to your MP, or your local press, by:</p>
<ul>
<li>Leaving a comment below this post;</li>
<li>Leaving a comment on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ukblueshield">UK Blue Shield's Facebook page</a></li>
<li>Or, if you use Twitter, sending a tweet to <code>@UKBlueShield</code> with hashtag <code>#Hague1954</code> — and tweet to your followers too!</li>
</ul>
<p>Please also encourage anyone you know to write to their MP. Use Twitter (<code>#Hague1954</code>), Facebook, email, good old-fashioned letters — whatever it it takes to tell our elected representatives why this matters so much.</p>
<h2><a name="letter">Sample letter to your MP</a></h2>
<blockquote>
<p>Dear [MP'S NAME]</p>
<p><strong>1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols of 1954 and 1999</strong></p>
<p>
May I congratulate you on your recent election and ask that you take action on a very topical and urgent matter.</p>
<p>The Hague Convention is the primary piece of International Humanitarian Law concerning the protection of cultural heritage during conflict. While the world reacts in horror to the appalling destruction of ancient sites, libraries, archives, and museums in the Middle East and Africa the UK remains the only Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council, and arguably the most significant military power (and the only one with extensive military involvements abroad), not to have ratified the 1954 Hague Convention. </p>
<p>Following the catastrophic damage to libraries, archives, museums, and archaeological sites in Iraq after the 2003 US/UK led invasion the then Minister for Heritage, Andrew McIntosh, announced in 2004 the Government’s intention to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention as soon as Parliamentary business allowed. This claim has been repeated by every relevant Minister since. In November 2011, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, then Secretary of State at DCMS, made a joint UK Government and British Red Cross Society pledge “to make every effort to facilitate the UK’s ratification… and to promote understanding of the principles and rules of the Convention within the UK”.</p>
<p>Ratification has cross-Party support and the support of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; the Department for Overseas Development; and the Ministry of Defence.</p>
<p>In order to ratify the Convention national legislation has to be passed. A Draft Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill was scrutinised by DCMS Select Committee in the summer of 2008. The draft Bill required only minor modifications but no time was found for it in the next session. Despite constant requests, no time has been found since.</p>
<p>I ask you to urge the Government to take prompt and urgent action to ratify the Convention within the first session of this new Parliament.</p>
<p>Yours sincerely,</p>
<p>[Your name and address]</p>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="key">The UK and the Hague Convention – key points</a></h2>
<ul>
<li>Following the appalling destruction of cultural property during the Second World War the international community came together in 1954 and produced The Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. As the result of concerns raised by the USA and other countries some parts of the Convention were removed and published as a 1954 Protocol to the Convention.</li>
<li>
Mainly as the result of the fighting in the former Yugoslavia a 2nd Protocol was produced in 1999. It identified the Blue Shield as an international NGO Advisory Body to the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property In the event of Armed Conflict.</li>
<li>In 2003, when they led the Coalition that invaded Iraq, neither the USA nor the UK had ratified the Convention or its Protocols. The USA ratified the Convention, but not the Protocols, in 2009. The UK is now arguably the most significant military power (and the only one with extensive military involvements abroad) not to have ratified the 1954 Hague Convention.</li>
<li>In 2004 the then Minister for Heritage, Andrew McIntosh, announced the Government’s intention to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention as soon as Parliamentary business allowed. </li>
<li>In the summer of 2008 a Draft Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill was scrutinised by DCMS Select Committee. There were very few changes required but the Draft Bill was not given a slot in the next session.</li>
<li>In 2009 Barbara Follett MP, then Minister of Heritage, reiterated that HMG was committed to “ratification at the earliest possible opportunity”.</li>
<li>In 2010, written evidence was submitted to the Iraq Inquiry by the UK National Commission for UNESCO (UKNC) and twelve other cultural organisations. It is understood that the Inquiry will recommend immediate ratification when, and if, it reports.</li>
<li>In 2011 Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications & Creative Industries at DCMS, reconfirmed that HMG was committed to ratification “at the earliest possible opportunity”. </li>
In November 2011, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, then Secretary of State at DCMS, made a joint UK Government and British Red Cross Society pledge “to make every effort to facilitate the UK’s ratification… and to promote understanding of the principles and rules of the Convention within the UK”.
<li>Ratification has the support of the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and Labour parties; it is supported by DCMS, MoD, DFID, and FCO. The Armed Forces have acknowledged the value of trying to protect cultural property during deployment as a ‘force multiplier’ – something that makes their job easier. They attempt to work within the ‘spirit of the Convention’ and relations between the Armed Forces and the UK National Committee for the Blue Shield (UKBS) are becoming clearer and more helpful.</li>
<li>On 20 Jan 2014 Ed Vaizey MP wrote to the UKNC and UKBS reiterating that ratification is a Government “priority” and that HMG “remains committed” to ratification “as soon as Parliamentary time allows”.</li>
<li>On 21 Jan 2014, DCMS wrote to UKNC/UKBS stating that “the Cabinet Committee has not been able to grant drafting authority for the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill to be offered as a Government hand-out bill in the 2014-15 Parliamentary session. My understanding is that this means it will now unfortunately not be possible to take forward a Government-initiated measure to ratify the Hague Convention in the remaining time available to this Parliament.”</li>
</ul>
</div>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-56852307977504507892015-04-16T15:18:00.001+01:002015-05-21T15:07:14.095+01:00Teaching Geoarchaeology in Erbil<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From 15-17 February 2015, BISI Trustee Dr Mark
Altaweel was invited by World </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monuments Fund to guest teach a short course on the
use of geoarchaeology in Erbil </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to a group of 12 Iraqis from southern Iraq and the
Kurdish region. The participants </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">were Iraqis who are working in archaeology, such as
the Kurdish Regional </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Government of the State Board of Antiquities and
Heritage, or have some </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">experience. The intent of the class was to cover
how geoarchaeology can be used for </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">site conservation as well as for making new
discoveries. The course consisted of 15 </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hours of talks, discussion, a practical site visit at
a site near Erbil, and presentations </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by the participants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Dr Mark Altaweel has been a trustee of BISI since 2012. He is a Lecturer in Near Eastern Archaeology at UCL </i></span></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223178147927755037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-18581315989336039142013-04-28T18:23:00.001+01:002013-04-28T18:23:22.047+01:00Nimrud, from Mound to Museum<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicz2wRupvGqtY_W8gyfTQNteg1ly5_kuvCEYRWFk3hcNQftHGsdkV_EfCCoh1-s91YPYwdClBGBCCmu4a2FWOcSkuJBOQRtlAY4zbPD2CW-pZLbghBR4hyphenhyphenZyy_v90Gv-IPToLDaaHM3oM/s1600/nimrud-ziggurat-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicz2wRupvGqtY_W8gyfTQNteg1ly5_kuvCEYRWFk3hcNQftHGsdkV_EfCCoh1-s91YPYwdClBGBCCmu4a2FWOcSkuJBOQRtlAY4zbPD2CW-pZLbghBR4hyphenhyphenZyy_v90Gv-IPToLDaaHM3oM/s320/nimrud-ziggurat-large.jpg" /></a>
<p>As I mentioned <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/nimrud-and-nimrud.html">in January</a>, BISI is a project partner in an AHRC-funded research project that I'm currently working on with Ruth Horry, Jon Taylor, and Steve Tinney. It's got the possibly over-long title, "<a href="http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/nimrud">Materialities of Assyrian Knowledge Production</a>: Object Biographies of Inscribed Artefacts from Nimrud for Museums and Mobiles" and its basic aim is this:</p>
<blockquote><p>How do archaeological artefacts find their way into gallery cases and museum websites? How do objects found in the ground get transformed into specimens for scientific and historical study? How have the processes of making archaeological knowledge changed over the past two centuries? This project tackles those questions using objects excavated from the ancient city of Nimrud (Kalhu), capital of the Assyrian empire in the early first millennium BC.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The project aims to bring together as many as possible existing online resources on Nimrud, as well as creating substantial new interpretative content, designed and licensed for re-use by museums in mobile gallery guides. We're also hosting several related <a href="http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/nimrud/events/">events</a> throughout 2013.</p>
<p>The first of these was held yesterday at the <a href="http://www.ashmolean.org/">Ashmolean Museum</a>, Oxford. "Nimrud, from Mound to Museum: Making Knowledge from Archaeological Objects" brought together a range of academic experts who have been involved in this process, to give their personal stories of making knowledge from objects excavated from the city from the 1850s onwards. I have just finished putting together my live-tweets from the event on
<a href="http://storify.com/Eleanor_Robson/nimrud-from-mound-to-museum">Storify</a> to make a short summary of the five talks.</p>
<p>We made some great contacts for future Nimrud-related work, and collected a plethora of brilliant raw material for the Nimrud-related resources we're going to be developing on the project website over the coming months.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone involved in the day: our six uniformly excellent speakers—Joan Oates, Julian Reade, Denise Ling, Kathleen Swales, Paul Collins, and Lamia Al-Gailani—and the engaged and thoughtful audience; Paul Collins (again) for organising the Ashmolean end, Lauren Mulvee for BISI, and fellow-project members Jon, Ruth and Steve.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnsAHqAQWTJ1UOkWINCOfK5_e534K_Tcb2ixD1GvhX6Gfh1wqtzUAW5GEtqoNVhFIasZ47gcLs8h9TCHHSNkWkw0LK3m3FzDAYDr2SoJioMOzFqmyaj-tsn_P0jI0sb6uOC3xiYTYDIQ/s1600/fitz-genie.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnsAHqAQWTJ1UOkWINCOfK5_e534K_Tcb2ixD1GvhX6Gfh1wqtzUAW5GEtqoNVhFIasZ47gcLs8h9TCHHSNkWkw0LK3m3FzDAYDr2SoJioMOzFqmyaj-tsn_P0jI0sb6uOC3xiYTYDIQ/s320/fitz-genie.jpg" /></a>
<p>The next <a href="http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/nimrud/events/">Nimrud-related event</a> we have planned is a free gallery talk I'll be giving on Wednesday 19 June 2013, 1.15-2.00 pm, at the <a href="http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/">Fitzwilliam Museum</a>, Cambridge: "The Genies on the Stairs: who are they and how did they get here?" Not telling you now, you'll have to come along and find out!</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-81846687286320986902013-04-11T09:24:00.001+01:002013-04-11T09:24:57.851+01:00Meeting Gilgamesh<p>I'm back home in Cambridgeshire now, filling the washing machine and petting the cat. There are still more Iraq posts to come over the next few days, but meanwhile you can read about what I got up to on Monday and Tuesday this week thanks to Jane Moon, blogging about the <a href="http://urheritage.tumblr.com/">Ur Region Archaeological Project</a>, which she co-directs. You'll have to read her if you want to make sense of the title of this post!</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-826969444368437282013-04-10T13:57:00.001+01:002013-04-10T13:57:56.237+01:00Baghdad street scenes<h2>Sunday 7 April</h2>
<p>Saad very kindly lent me his car and driving team to take me from <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/memory-identity-and-grassroots.html">INLA</a> to the Iraq Museum and then back to the British Embassy. Here are some shots taken from the car window as we crawled through traffic.</p>
<p>There's surprisingly little construction in Baghdad still (outside the INLA compound), presumably because corruption and insecurity make the costs and risks too high. So the city still looks very war-torn, ten years on, but there's a huge amount of small-to-large-scale enterprise in evidence.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWJKqltCZmoJ-mLSLzw83qigOQ8rT3ZrpnFr7ZwQlL9wZiKqRKIgknFboDNqNuylO9469y3IXolnXDadOfjFX98xvXgirwrR7zK9Qbdn5kAm7EfC_a2iyKjXnyORYunWAfqX9-Hdkb8k/s1600/DSCF6856.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWJKqltCZmoJ-mLSLzw83qigOQ8rT3ZrpnFr7ZwQlL9wZiKqRKIgknFboDNqNuylO9469y3IXolnXDadOfjFX98xvXgirwrR7zK9Qbdn5kAm7EfC_a2iyKjXnyORYunWAfqX9-Hdkb8k/s320/DSCF6856.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQgdnt58DsUTNnw688tMPq03kOnqmgWhVTQosQwUiKVH6Qig-4wA9NDp1uifNMXw6MIUMHBdW0HexKPNk_6-c74oTzF7dC1qQ9-Hack0798nTS-q31Msa5Xyq246HNVyPBklAWXgPwTw/s1600/DSCF6857.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQgdnt58DsUTNnw688tMPq03kOnqmgWhVTQosQwUiKVH6Qig-4wA9NDp1uifNMXw6MIUMHBdW0HexKPNk_6-c74oTzF7dC1qQ9-Hack0798nTS-q31Msa5Xyq246HNVyPBklAWXgPwTw/s320/DSCF6857.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8kh1ES5fF_u1PGxLYIGS-0jCFq4lcf8cOjq90W6MWh253TaVvW9jo1R9YeCRw_95nM3t5hG-L9fGX5x2ZJooYUNnHcyrh-3vWmNQTNhLWxcXcgIckPVnZ9To6RJE3A5DeDaFck7v05s/s1600/DSCF6859.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8kh1ES5fF_u1PGxLYIGS-0jCFq4lcf8cOjq90W6MWh253TaVvW9jo1R9YeCRw_95nM3t5hG-L9fGX5x2ZJooYUNnHcyrh-3vWmNQTNhLWxcXcgIckPVnZ9To6RJE3A5DeDaFck7v05s/s320/DSCF6859.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcoIELf7m22Sf_KFyBXCPHtgH_XQyY9WtPQyOsg3mxNrBGEUg3ig3XkvyzvjxLZygM0LApubK9QR78ZWbikmStnG3HkOaAUaEBNOVje9wenNOilxXdLDRLaptUNRWpg4HEWUjugrJtG8/s1600/DSCF6858.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcoIELf7m22Sf_KFyBXCPHtgH_XQyY9WtPQyOsg3mxNrBGEUg3ig3XkvyzvjxLZygM0LApubK9QR78ZWbikmStnG3HkOaAUaEBNOVje9wenNOilxXdLDRLaptUNRWpg4HEWUjugrJtG8/s320/DSCF6858.JPG" /></a>
<p>Note the new red double-deckers, which arrived 5 or 6 months ago. (They were quite a feature of pre-war Baghdad too.)</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVIl9xJf6R7UlU5K6Ce5qIRPvBrMKuBmGkcK4x0JAwrvvoRu-PUNkoHhtLg8E6NMBoDfrRfCd4ezkuWuMv6XQez3N0SFG_yPTPj0O1tBB8VETz5Qqu1s2NO5yPUvjjCH39778k_XfyL4/s1600/DSCF6860.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVIl9xJf6R7UlU5K6Ce5qIRPvBrMKuBmGkcK4x0JAwrvvoRu-PUNkoHhtLg8E6NMBoDfrRfCd4ezkuWuMv6XQez3N0SFG_yPTPj0O1tBB8VETz5Qqu1s2NO5yPUvjjCH39778k_XfyL4/s320/DSCF6860.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5mzAmgvBe4EfTriJo9Cv3CFAqLuCp9C21l8itEVwcUXAVhxyvLnJKiM5Jk1TwaRQ76qog0jvhR_wwii1JzUYUPvD5IozzkTXSj_To4ZyzfLftKqIZ3AaUOntKK_KwawUO8dtQRWn6VY/s1600/DSCF6862.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5mzAmgvBe4EfTriJo9Cv3CFAqLuCp9C21l8itEVwcUXAVhxyvLnJKiM5Jk1TwaRQ76qog0jvhR_wwii1JzUYUPvD5IozzkTXSj_To4ZyzfLftKqIZ3AaUOntKK_KwawUO8dtQRWn6VY/s320/DSCF6862.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxH-hVzJKtPWq7wUq-wnhPGAURG4s3nej2NK9HYq_ZBl_BAABfayvKPjc4REGK2UyZYNcsezF6aFbpLFuy5gRZ1Ky_CS0Wg5ajyo43iVqXEaqRJoi1QBwPDZQCvkDyXpGZM-6uYLZDA4/s1600/DSCF6873.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxH-hVzJKtPWq7wUq-wnhPGAURG4s3nej2NK9HYq_ZBl_BAABfayvKPjc4REGK2UyZYNcsezF6aFbpLFuy5gRZ1Ky_CS0Wg5ajyo43iVqXEaqRJoi1QBwPDZQCvkDyXpGZM-6uYLZDA4/s320/DSCF6873.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBF3BkTAuTGvwTLyE3dYEIDaA0YXChklmmvYf0LjzPSNk22ZgdgSarzV4aPQqlg5rTgLVOuvhOI040cm35rmQ0Qvf98kEx_QXbCIZ4wppQRVL7ejE4hgoedNlQdnJbPnJ_749xjerVMyo/s1600/DSCF6872.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBF3BkTAuTGvwTLyE3dYEIDaA0YXChklmmvYf0LjzPSNk22ZgdgSarzV4aPQqlg5rTgLVOuvhOI040cm35rmQ0Qvf98kEx_QXbCIZ4wppQRVL7ejE4hgoedNlQdnJbPnJ_749xjerVMyo/s320/DSCF6872.JPG" /></a>
<p>Lots of delicious-looking street food for sale:</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoitCeSn0nT7U-KQCgdrqIWtmobuBoDZXn0Q7YE7uvGNa9hPPHhqjOFrCm7A1AOW8F8OM6ZsaAcvyTX67UKGnroxgn_4XODJ2YVGCgcZv1biiUE2FsV19X6j5zvVSql6IGYsoRrHLtYwU/s1600/DSCF6863.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoitCeSn0nT7U-KQCgdrqIWtmobuBoDZXn0Q7YE7uvGNa9hPPHhqjOFrCm7A1AOW8F8OM6ZsaAcvyTX67UKGnroxgn_4XODJ2YVGCgcZv1biiUE2FsV19X6j5zvVSql6IGYsoRrHLtYwU/s320/DSCF6863.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4h8qWKzJpym1dY3PFbAwJcpQQwubrBcRGZ9k8NjZ97oB0yTqpJSHNFVAw70xl2dstis0z9HTQYYXP5_tLceGofR5JyhXa9kBfqq7UNZZTDmgwqsCOmmySfnJDcNz7NKPBKoIL3KHno4/s1600/DSCF6864.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4h8qWKzJpym1dY3PFbAwJcpQQwubrBcRGZ9k8NjZ97oB0yTqpJSHNFVAw70xl2dstis0z9HTQYYXP5_tLceGofR5JyhXa9kBfqq7UNZZTDmgwqsCOmmySfnJDcNz7NKPBKoIL3KHno4/s320/DSCF6864.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdLw1q4fzJ8y5VaHJ6_03DHMbCyWwkpSnvwi5meUunL8WwY-HQqbwruoj78QYKq-0kB5DCFs_yrXgb83AWEzC0H0Fi1Pe4-XDs-xbwNCD03c3829PDVozKY00fzFRCPiu-9o420M3OiY/s1600/DSCF6869.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdLw1q4fzJ8y5VaHJ6_03DHMbCyWwkpSnvwi5meUunL8WwY-HQqbwruoj78QYKq-0kB5DCFs_yrXgb83AWEzC0H0Fi1Pe4-XDs-xbwNCD03c3829PDVozKY00fzFRCPiu-9o420M3OiY/s320/DSCF6869.JPG" /></a>
<p>A public monument (covered in heritage images), mosque and the railway terminus, all by the Iraq Museum, which is adjacent to a furniture-making quarter. (Traffic was much lighter here, so my photo isn't great.)</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAA8n-FgrG_LV8_CzZDCiMdgp2hVuHK9OAh01Qd937UvbneALDjoB5aBMcWVT_SCwYSWycUVdmxmDujeuraGFeeOchZ9uloCvLegNPDH6SRVl54cr6BfpCQW74ExCHkePeOZs8monK3gA/s1600/DSCF6874.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAA8n-FgrG_LV8_CzZDCiMdgp2hVuHK9OAh01Qd937UvbneALDjoB5aBMcWVT_SCwYSWycUVdmxmDujeuraGFeeOchZ9uloCvLegNPDH6SRVl54cr6BfpCQW74ExCHkePeOZs8monK3gA/s320/DSCF6874.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQAE3KbtSY-_lTTJtivxs83jzeUV4HuiCmqXOjHHH0Yt4ZcwvS6ouw36mZxL7krNWdWL3xNwVq-7xJ90ZM6oFZRFOW09AE41zu6cXEpPho0QtiOZ65PU1hY8rzbH2gb71E7CXFvdB_dc/s1600/DSCF6875.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQAE3KbtSY-_lTTJtivxs83jzeUV4HuiCmqXOjHHH0Yt4ZcwvS6ouw36mZxL7krNWdWL3xNwVq-7xJ90ZM6oFZRFOW09AE41zu6cXEpPho0QtiOZ65PU1hY8rzbH2gb71E7CXFvdB_dc/s320/DSCF6875.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rVcMQxZHzf86p7DSj-eaUBrLkwO6bsjmSimE55gY-rfQjvQHcnu4U9mEL_xuIfqt4X3eUs3WNN9WuhARdVjMN5psx8x_XywLA8_51PH_UGLNjlmqfihB0UcaD3hL3uOp4Bj1PS33bjc/s1600/DSCF6879.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rVcMQxZHzf86p7DSj-eaUBrLkwO6bsjmSimE55gY-rfQjvQHcnu4U9mEL_xuIfqt4X3eUs3WNN9WuhARdVjMN5psx8x_XywLA8_51PH_UGLNjlmqfihB0UcaD3hL3uOp4Bj1PS33bjc/s320/DSCF6879.JPG" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iIqTTweNb5A8d3XcYVD1IRD3VLnHbrP7nmCp3QzFBLduVc1gtNfjfyVaFYw6tq1-GNy-pml1i0My6fC-aMSCgrd5bnLfvoDC-ZdVqF7ctu85i6IV1FZ2QE0zKPzeWjOaiREDWM-dHsY/s1600/DSCF6881.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iIqTTweNb5A8d3XcYVD1IRD3VLnHbrP7nmCp3QzFBLduVc1gtNfjfyVaFYw6tq1-GNy-pml1i0My6fC-aMSCgrd5bnLfvoDC-ZdVqF7ctu85i6IV1FZ2QE0zKPzeWjOaiREDWM-dHsY/s320/DSCF6881.JPG" /></a>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-59240453385420800672013-04-09T16:18:00.000+01:002013-04-15T11:12:18.317+01:00Memory, identity and grassroots democracy at the Iraqi National Library and Archive<h2>Sunday 7 April</h2>
<p><i>(Updated with a few more images on 10 April)</i></p>
<p>Without memory, how can we know who we are? This is the question that drives Dr Saad Eskander, LSE-trained historian and, since 2003, Director of the Iraqi National Library and Archives.Saad talks passionately of the imperative to locate, preserve and digitise as much as possible of Iraq's documentation so that history will not just remember the oppressors but also the oppressed.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlo12cjDP-Q6lHEU2AvvyvKnfPNgploq7X7Oun4s3rMfTVQ_TkS2mg0w7kS3DQtJRVlL38I8v5oVcf7E0BX2CxEu6YgdXcOkCSh5__eC4eZrA8LSeoJ1b_7riyQk_YaGp8YIy9z75sShU/s1600/DSCF6827.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlo12cjDP-Q6lHEU2AvvyvKnfPNgploq7X7Oun4s3rMfTVQ_TkS2mg0w7kS3DQtJRVlL38I8v5oVcf7E0BX2CxEu6YgdXcOkCSh5__eC4eZrA8LSeoJ1b_7riyQk_YaGp8YIy9z75sShU/s320/DSCF6827.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRSP6zoBLnuh8Hsrj5OlJxtGtruqLrh_cEboSo2bJBJ1-9jNR5_p3iCDYeifHv8CRCQuHhUCWc5_6Tdgu4ZjX68GL2jOcFGcmppwNiYa4-c1b36zNh3-TEy3pyrk3_oO6k7gJoLKGvbk/s1600/DSCF6855.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRSP6zoBLnuh8Hsrj5OlJxtGtruqLrh_cEboSo2bJBJ1-9jNR5_p3iCDYeifHv8CRCQuHhUCWc5_6Tdgu4ZjX68GL2jOcFGcmppwNiYa4-c1b36zNh3-TEy3pyrk3_oO6k7gJoLKGvbk/s320/DSCF6855.JPG" /></a>
<p>But Saad does not just talk: for the past decade he has also been putting those words into action in many different ways. The books lining his elegant office were once owned by the Iraqi royal family and then passed into the hands of Saddam Hussein. The glamour of their bindings reminds me a little of <a href="http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/images/earlyprint/large14586.html">King George's Library</a> at the British Library. But conspicuous amongst them are a much tattier pile of books lying on their sides, in clear need of rebinding and conservation. These are an important national collection too but had been long neglected because they are written in Hebrew, not Arabic. It's Saad's mission to safeguard all of Iraq's written heritage, whatever its origins.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexkySEe0ZDW12zPZR7t9Vk95rrgkeVoqKpAYkzhTurvZCPBycZ7K5eDay29_cm0h1rt4U195g3vXpOZalZahZf5MsGk1uj13sAZJnkVe4UeVNeUXigJF8Dd4qN0YTxOxd3fEHAw0hd6U/s1600/DSCF6829.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexkySEe0ZDW12zPZR7t9Vk95rrgkeVoqKpAYkzhTurvZCPBycZ7K5eDay29_cm0h1rt4U195g3vXpOZalZahZf5MsGk1uj13sAZJnkVe4UeVNeUXigJF8Dd4qN0YTxOxd3fEHAw0hd6U/s320/DSCF6829.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMZNSwt6hyfcv8H1LCUpNtKinZ2w-4EDfy63mNy9DehMGKg6UexnmbNYhGOehLD1ycRvd2R4g091yTub-PL0fAZHhKSot28VxWQwX6D8emG_3Aejp8t7ZZKjzMo3bYnpthIGw_byaRR4/s1600/DSCF6832.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMZNSwt6hyfcv8H1LCUpNtKinZ2w-4EDfy63mNy9DehMGKg6UexnmbNYhGOehLD1ycRvd2R4g091yTub-PL0fAZHhKSot28VxWQwX6D8emG_3Aejp8t7ZZKjzMo3bYnpthIGw_byaRR4/s320/DSCF6832.JPG" /></a>
<p>He takes me on a whistlestop tour of the departments, sleeves rolled up and coffee mug in hand. In one large office, staff are digitising microfilms of state records; in another they are scanning the personal files of those executed or exiled by the Baathists: Jews, Iranians, political dissidents, anyone thought to be a trouble-maker. The dictatorship's passion for bureaucracy at least means that the oppressed have not disappeared entirely without trace. There is at least a little comfort in that thought, and much poignancy in the forlorn photos looking up at us.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1k5dI6jJRmXwaODnpNr-5SwvFeio9PLrTFbA7TG_XI59lsW6bo82zWwB5TarK3xC5F6tBZ5QmWnViBCBh8CAq088hEHiBSQkVzKBExRfpQ0cCYlCNwQoGswJH4eeTE4OUmsLa8MR4K8/s1600/DSCF6838.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1k5dI6jJRmXwaODnpNr-5SwvFeio9PLrTFbA7TG_XI59lsW6bo82zWwB5TarK3xC5F6tBZ5QmWnViBCBh8CAq088hEHiBSQkVzKBExRfpQ0cCYlCNwQoGswJH4eeTE4OUmsLa8MR4K8/s320/DSCF6838.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvC7fJBh4dXjEW4tcFRzpAi4KcvJI5Yd4IGV2mUqFSbh3g0S5GbP8Lo72hPBuAXVX7o93brWqxlxG3ETB8M-aq2AsHby6ckhIw1aDezvyhNlMAsEN6MES2BLR3k4nM6gggSkMbWCIgK7s/s1600/DSCF6841.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvC7fJBh4dXjEW4tcFRzpAi4KcvJI5Yd4IGV2mUqFSbh3g0S5GbP8Lo72hPBuAXVX7o93brWqxlxG3ETB8M-aq2AsHby6ckhIw1aDezvyhNlMAsEN6MES2BLR3k4nM6gggSkMbWCIgK7s/s320/DSCF6841.JPG" /></a>
<p>A third suite of labs and offices is devoted to the restoration and digitisation of Ottoman court records. They are horribly mouldy, so are stored in freezers before being disinfected, cleaned, flattened and dried. Then they are mounted into books of Japanese paper and scanned. There are Monarch-period documents on the drying racks too. It's this team who trained Mr Kamal's conservation lab in Kerbala.</p>
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<p>Another office, another preservation exercise. This team is processing Mandate-period records. I pick one up from the top of the nearest pile; it is a handwritten telegraph despatch asking the reason for the imprisonment of a certain local sheikh. A detailed reply is on the next sheet down. Maps and photographs are stored in a separate office. By and large they need less conservation work.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6QTMF2piinZsVkU2Hy51w8Yr1jenIV7RXYF2GCfzOTq5_6vl1_hK8cDRJ-KL18RQKVHxz5QQRi3Tyk8plUovpFHlCzKkYuQHEsVAJJlczjcRDcoJSC7TLerldunmdFF3soRZqXVPibg/s1600/DSCF6846.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6QTMF2piinZsVkU2Hy51w8Yr1jenIV7RXYF2GCfzOTq5_6vl1_hK8cDRJ-KL18RQKVHxz5QQRi3Tyk8plUovpFHlCzKkYuQHEsVAJJlczjcRDcoJSC7TLerldunmdFF3soRZqXVPibg/s320/DSCF6846.JPG" /></a>
<p>Digitisation equipment has also just arrived for the <a href="http://www.soundofiraq.org/">Sound of Iraq</a> project, which BISI has helped to fund along with the British Library. The BL have been training sound technicians to transfer vinyl and shellac records of traditional Iraqi music and poetry to digital media. However, INLA hasn't abandoned traditional media altogether; some documents are still being photographed onto film as well as being scanned.</p>
<p>There's a huge foundation pit within the INLA compound, which will before long become a four-storey digital library. A recently completed archive building will house the ongoing digitisation work and receive visiting researchers. But the aim is to put all of the material online too, so that it can be accessed free from anywhere in the world.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_bbMsnWZIfTsYeTxT6OpaVGAHl6YS4oAnpbybxE_MwqhX2ZQ1jUpfeE5obsD6kY_vtG1NF9rTucMeHguZMhRaQNpN48pPsAseq9MSYna9NdfcWzpAoDYw3svXmdS0XBFztCF-dmI54I/s1600/DSCF6848.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_bbMsnWZIfTsYeTxT6OpaVGAHl6YS4oAnpbybxE_MwqhX2ZQ1jUpfeE5obsD6kY_vtG1NF9rTucMeHguZMhRaQNpN48pPsAseq9MSYna9NdfcWzpAoDYw3svXmdS0XBFztCF-dmI54I/s320/DSCF6848.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZPorGyrX0ZeiEK1ohvDsm8xOJj-eYSbqgOlwVa12zDqdNRPkMh1sBIN_lEpYXkJcY3yZ5brphimjbiqucmuTBQvcFtjylszU1ZmfLd9kKfcDs-ZIqh4MpySxrtJpRwBjV-DDaPBiRPY/s1600/DSCF6849.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZPorGyrX0ZeiEK1ohvDsm8xOJj-eYSbqgOlwVa12zDqdNRPkMh1sBIN_lEpYXkJcY3yZ5brphimjbiqucmuTBQvcFtjylszU1ZmfLd9kKfcDs-ZIqh4MpySxrtJpRwBjV-DDaPBiRPY/s320/DSCF6849.JPG" /></a>
<p>The library, which is currently full, will then expand to gradually fill the existing building. As a copyright deposit library, it has a right to a copy of every book and periodical published in Iraq. It also publishes three or four journals of its own and runs an exchange programme with institutions in other countries. The library catalogue is online, and the reading room welcomed over 20,000 visitors last year. A dedicated children's library has just been built and is currently acquiring its first stock of books (below).</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGcPJyztcLunk4Hr6TZbS1ramAR30ZK58KRoswlPQwlML0VFuiWSE_v2vDiFPGsIrgltKaE3qSHEUcfnUBZg-gvlI4HWcmmuaNSnjRfkUhC5P3AhLvYj0QIgF01hwqbRn_Djuom8K1KI/s1600/DSCF6850.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGcPJyztcLunk4Hr6TZbS1ramAR30ZK58KRoswlPQwlML0VFuiWSE_v2vDiFPGsIrgltKaE3qSHEUcfnUBZg-gvlI4HWcmmuaNSnjRfkUhC5P3AhLvYj0QIgF01hwqbRn_Djuom8K1KI/s320/DSCF6850.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRt8vQQqDzGqgwAw5OA22cs4GqPjQc04fhElebaB0Sxuomi8TWwX3fj207ktIJEuJarjixrdbe6Sr25-YbtlW-BXa-kJUe4NW2HoDQzSr4bQpgmVfevNAg1V12Tp8p5QuhXsgNOhElBxE/s1600/DSCF6834.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRt8vQQqDzGqgwAw5OA22cs4GqPjQc04fhElebaB0Sxuomi8TWwX3fj207ktIJEuJarjixrdbe6Sr25-YbtlW-BXa-kJUe4NW2HoDQzSr4bQpgmVfevNAg1V12Tp8p5QuhXsgNOhElBxE/s320/DSCF6834.JPG" /></a>
<p>All this activity, and it's not even 9am yet! Saad knows all his employees by name, because he has hired them all personally and takes a close interest in their welfare and personal development. There are two nurseries onsite, as well as a canteen. The majority of the technical staff are women (Sunni and Shi'a, Arab and Kurd) and Saad urges them to be independent, critical thinkers--at home, as well as at work. The staff themselves hold annual elections to choose departmental heads, and selected Saad's own office team from amongst themselves.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1kq05uAFbMh8VEYGK-r7d-pcNTshjMNLw0V76flVq3lXgRgLcfKknwe04CepL9bwqCSYzJPe0vHtBxvswdKDJ5aopf2-saJvkIDvSEWaDgyR4-yGHQs4Uh7IKBonUCnFjAGC2-589Q0/s1600/DSCF6854.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1kq05uAFbMh8VEYGK-r7d-pcNTshjMNLw0V76flVq3lXgRgLcfKknwe04CepL9bwqCSYzJPe0vHtBxvswdKDJ5aopf2-saJvkIDvSEWaDgyR4-yGHQs4Uh7IKBonUCnFjAGC2-589Q0/s320/DSCF6854.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIX_nv5USIdXwkkK-M-PHN8eP5Zpqyu8-SE7Ll2H7VuqPjKcPG0ENE7WnQOIUmTq56BrE_HaaY8k4LoPOLEaUXLYFUMPxyxoavNeZ-T_NmNZEuNtc3AIfUzwBv6rGOdNeBl21arbUr58/s1600/DSCF6853.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIX_nv5USIdXwkkK-M-PHN8eP5Zpqyu8-SE7Ll2H7VuqPjKcPG0ENE7WnQOIUmTq56BrE_HaaY8k4LoPOLEaUXLYFUMPxyxoavNeZ-T_NmNZEuNtc3AIfUzwBv6rGOdNeBl21arbUr58/s320/DSCF6853.JPG" /></a>
<p>INLA also puts on cultural performances and exhibitions. Most movingly, Saad has just received a large white box in his office, which he opens once our tour is over. Inside are all the original artworks from the international anthology, <a href="http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2012/may/day-lingers-us-still-al-mutanabbi-street-starts-here-persis-m-karim#.UWPs8Y57lVg"><i>Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here</i></a>, put together in commemoration of the bombing of the Baghdad booksellers' market in 2007, and which has also toured as a performance and exhibition. Soon it will return to the street which inspired it, which Saad tells me is now thriving again.</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-44962094662654691242013-04-08T05:49:00.003+01:002013-04-08T05:49:28.303+01:00Leaving Baghdad
<p>I'm now in Baghdad airport (free wifi!) waiting for a flight to Basra. From there I'm going straight to the <a href="http://www.urarchaeology.org/">Ur Regional Archaeology Project</a>'s dig at Tell Khaiber (where they have a newly discovered cuneiform tablet waiting for me to decipher!) and heading home to the UK on Wednesday.</p>
<p>I've had a marvellous time in Baghdad, and will write soon about my visits to the <a href="http://www.iraqnla.org/wpeng/">Iraqi National Library and Archive</a> (INLA) and the <a href="http://www.theiraqmuseum.com/">Iraq Museum</a> yesterday. Upload speeds aren't fast enough here to post photo-based stuff. So for now I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to my hosts here, both personally on behalf of BISI: the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/world/iraq">British Embassy</a> and <a href="http://www.britishcouncil.org/iraq.htm">British Council Iraq</a>; and INLA's director, Dr Saad Eskander. All of them have gone out of their way to make my time in Baghdad both enjoyable and highly productive (not to mention safe!).</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-73525192266689090942013-04-06T14:35:00.001+01:002013-04-06T14:35:47.373+01:00From Green Zone to Green Zone<p>I left Nejef at 5.15 on Thursday morning, driving up to Baghdad with kindly engineer Dr Faris of U.Kufa. He had an appointment with the Ministry of Higher Education, I was heading to the British Embassy in the International Zone. As we drove through the lush date-palm groves on the banks of the Euphrates I felt a pang of regret that I hadn't been able to spend longer in this loveliest of Green Zones before moving on to the next.</p>
<p>Because my travel arrangements had been rather ad-hoc and last-minute (despite my best efforts to get everything in place before I left London, we inadvertently created a bit of a problem for the Embassy, who needed to arrange a secure pick-up for me outside the IZ. In the event, no security team was available until 1pm, so I had several hours to kill in Baghdad.</p>
<p>We reached the outskirts just after 7 and promptly hit one of Baghdad's legendary traffic jams. Most of the vehicles surrounding us were little white open-backed trucks, driven by men in traditional grey or beige dishdashas and black-and-white keffiyahs and laden high with lettuces, cucumbers and tomatoes. Occasionally we saw two or three cows tethered in the back instead. It soon became apparent that they were heading for one of the many wholesale markets on the edge of town. Once we had passed the last of these the traffic moved freely again. (As is my idiotic wont, I'd left my camera in the boot of the car. I'm good at this.)</p>
<p>During my last trip, there was always joky banter with the officer on duty; this time we were simply waved through without stopping (although some grungier cars and taxis did get searched). At one checkpoint the guard barely glanced up from the messages on his mobile phone; at another, the concrete blast barriers were adorned with a plethora of pot plants.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhaoe22gqCyvakLq6Moi1tJm5gX5tHo9iZgzHwepqfKjFiMEIvfdSDrmElVuffEq1VAvBSQ5zI30u61kq1rHjPrkMXnFdoUSBChyC2ar3VCURqlFN0jn-clIctjqdlKwZYUxvWJd58kI/s1600/central-baghdad.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhaoe22gqCyvakLq6Moi1tJm5gX5tHo9iZgzHwepqfKjFiMEIvfdSDrmElVuffEq1VAvBSQ5zI30u61kq1rHjPrkMXnFdoUSBChyC2ar3VCURqlFN0jn-clIctjqdlKwZYUxvWJd58kI/s320/central-baghdad.jpg" /></a>
<p>First stop was Dr Faris's Chevrolet garage, as his car was due for a service. Our route took us right through the city centre, past landmarks both vaguely familiar and completely new to me. We crawled past Zahra Park, caught a glimpse of the Iraq Museum (orange), and happened to cross the Tigris by Sinak Bridge, next to Al-Mansour Hotel (green) where I stayed 12 years ago. Happy to see it still standing; I wonder if it still has the same vaguely louche 70s decor inside?</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1-TOLa9wKswOU7QzAla_Titx6y3FszBu49HibZovoaqvugU3o6oz02Co083-STRiFGg4jAl1rWnpl7QJ4iX0U-fizRjQ2Wbs8QGZtCpiXhMNMDK7pQLhPJHmUQE17ZcSPCKAPsUXiSs/s1600/day+tigris.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1-TOLa9wKswOU7QzAla_Titx6y3FszBu49HibZovoaqvugU3o6oz02Co083-STRiFGg4jAl1rWnpl7QJ4iX0U-fizRjQ2Wbs8QGZtCpiXhMNMDK7pQLhPJHmUQE17ZcSPCKAPsUXiSs/s320/day+tigris.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1eDgafWVtjOP14F30Bg8LFXjz_krMCSP-2vLbsPivfadPAqxKFVpHhY4ugdq-UR15zrOQE2ngJAAUWGCYpQE9YeKsO-iQtMYMXmHD1pGg1pUFt2k6NXjTAUTqA7556MUrZAjlGjdsPw8/s1600/hotel+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1eDgafWVtjOP14F30Bg8LFXjz_krMCSP-2vLbsPivfadPAqxKFVpHhY4ugdq-UR15zrOQE2ngJAAUWGCYpQE9YeKsO-iQtMYMXmHD1pGg1pUFt2k6NXjTAUTqA7556MUrZAjlGjdsPw8/s320/hotel+room.jpg" /></a>
<p><i>My room in Al-Mansour hotel in 2001 and the view from the balcony across the Tigris. Even if the decor hasn't been upgraded, I assume that the spooky TV-spy-system-that-cannot-be-switched-off has long gone.</i></p>
<p>After a leisurely cross-cultural brunch of saj and pizza, the pick-up finally took place on the airport expressway at just after 1.30. I stepped out of the taxi (accompanied by Dr Faris's driver; his car was still in the garage) and much to my surprise was bundled into a bullet-proof vest with a great deal of urgency. In the armoured car (machine-gun on floor) I was briefed on procedure in case of direct attack while an identical car ahead of us waited until the road was clear before pulling out. It was a pretty bewildering few minutes after the super-relaxed pace of the first half of the day.</p>
<p>I received a very warm welcome from my British Council hosts at the Embassy: director Jim Scarth and office manager Ismail Sada. Ismail, it turns out, is from Kerbala and a good friend of my delightful translator Mr Razak (who is chatting to me in the top photo <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-shrine-pix.html">here</a>). It had been Raz's first, trial day working for the Shrines Authority when I was there in October and I was really pleased to hear that he'd been kept on. Ismail was just off home for the weekend, and promised to ring Raz to give him my greetings.</p>
<p>Jim and I had formally agreed ahead of time that I would be responsible for my own transport and security outside the Embassy compound, but this needed renegotiating with the security team once I arrived. That took a while to be resolved, and much to my regret meant that I had to miss my Friday appointment with Dr Munther Malik, head of the Archaeology Department at the University of Baghdad.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRIbo2ijIxQKhkmCc6_TCsuWmBAOXcLKoPOJnZW-CKIeaE7MqajpUufbhz7gCVmAOKvUUTFZew1jWvHhdCiSJJUVblEdzkVFmFp9z04K9MLiZyliJSuWk19buvJEYGSY-mnctew9j9Rw/s1600/DSCF6807.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRIbo2ijIxQKhkmCc6_TCsuWmBAOXcLKoPOJnZW-CKIeaE7MqajpUufbhz7gCVmAOKvUUTFZew1jWvHhdCiSJJUVblEdzkVFmFp9z04K9MLiZyliJSuWk19buvJEYGSY-mnctew9j9Rw/s320/DSCF6807.JPG" /></a>
<p><i>My (over-large) body armour offers a different sort of protection to abaya and hijab. The latter are rather more comfortable to wear!</i></p>
<p>It was rather a surprise to be back on British territory after several days of full Iraqi immersion: Lancashire hot-pot and apple tart on the dinner menu, porridge and fry-ups available for breakfast, and even Pimms at sundown (not, to be fair, a regular event) on my first night here. I have my own secure flat or "pod", surrounded by concrete-filled Hesco bags. Direct attacks are rare now--it is mostly Shi'a gatherings and high-profile election candidates who are targeted, mostly by Iraqi Al-Qaeda--but Jim showed me where a mortar had landed not far from his office last year. We're protected by a large team of Gurkhas as well as the UK security staff. I'm enjoying UK-levels of internet access, and very interesting conversations about Iraq with a whole range of people: not only Jim but also Deputy Head of Mission Robert Deane, defence attaché Paul Baker, and many other knowledgeable and committed people.</p>
<p>This afternoon I've been inspecting the library of our institutional predecessor, the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, which has been in container storage here for several years, and which hasn't been used since 1990. It is kept in locked tin trunks which have let in a bit of dust but otherwise protected the books very well. I'm very grateful to Mark Forrester, Head of Corporate Services here, who arranged for the inspection, and to John Quinn and his team for locating them and giving me access.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjau8CnT_3gM3T-LcCpO-yIiY3yXTPrj52dbqyA7hvCxTAu1-Defldf0j921w__t6Rr488WudAItwKIc227pgCgjijgq4xqOuU1ENXDSJC1ZwBWrtmBSTlL9DMun3e9l3PfuMUA_bUtKc4/s1600/DSCF6816.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjau8CnT_3gM3T-LcCpO-yIiY3yXTPrj52dbqyA7hvCxTAu1-Defldf0j921w__t6Rr488WudAItwKIc227pgCgjijgq4xqOuU1ENXDSJC1ZwBWrtmBSTlL9DMun3e9l3PfuMUA_bUtKc4/s320/DSCF6816.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanNx5S3BO04A5T9NJfdfHJp9-MRZvoGe-pQuVBOrVGHRT2il918z4MgRECUhcf7aJPtCd-pajDgnsNo-wlFxQIROljPhJ8EICKF6l1L_Qfcmg8FAdB-mhOWRRjPHQP-l6dnWMcfHEZOU/s1600/DSCF6820.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanNx5S3BO04A5T9NJfdfHJp9-MRZvoGe-pQuVBOrVGHRT2il918z4MgRECUhcf7aJPtCd-pajDgnsNo-wlFxQIROljPhJ8EICKF6l1L_Qfcmg8FAdB-mhOWRRjPHQP-l6dnWMcfHEZOU/s320/DSCF6820.JPG" /></a>
<p>Soon my down-time ends and tomorrow I start the next round of visits: to see BISI's good friend <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.com/2013/01/embassy-meeting-old-friends-new.html">Dr Saad Eskander</a> at the National Library and Archives--who has done so much to facilitate the non-Embassy aspects of my visit to Baghdad--and to colleagues at the Iraq Museum, including former BISI visiting scholar Mohammed Kasim Jwad (far right in the top photo <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-shrine-pix.html">here</a>), whom I'm greatly looking forward to seeing again.</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-40630861386712768962013-04-06T09:26:00.000+01:002013-04-06T09:26:26.216+01:00Cake and fun at the mathematicians' party<h2>Wednesday 3 April, evening</h2>
<p>It so happened that this year's cohort of graduating mathematicians were receiving their degree certificates this evening, so Dr Mansoor and his colleagues very kindly invited me along to the party.</p>
<p>It was an outdoor event, held in the grounds of one of Saddam's former palaces, on the banks of the Euphrates. The building is now managed by the governorate, and used for all sorts of public occasions. It was too dark to photograph the building well, and I can't find any pictures of it online, but this rather blurry <a href="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=+&q=Kufa&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Kufa,+An-Najaf,+Iraq&ll=32.03466,44.412827&spn=0.002719,0.003009&t=h&z=18&vpsrc=6">Google Maps</a> image shows its extraordinary shape, overall whiteness, and--if you zoom in further--you can just make out the two modernist gold domes on either side of the entrance.</p>
<p>We drove there along the riverside road, a sort of corniche lined with outdoor restaurants and brightly lit cafes, clearly the centre of Kufa's nightlife. Lots of smartly dressed young persons and their proud families were pouring out of the carpark, clutching elegant white invitation cards.</p>
<p>I was given a seat in the front row, next to the Dean of the Faculty, with Dr Nazera and Dr Mansoor beside me. It was the perfect place from which to observe the occasion, a mixture of student-led jollity and silliness with formal ceremony. Much wild dancing from the young men to left of the stage, lots of jokes and skits and spoof videos (from both sexes) on stage. The graduating cohort call themselves "The New Numbers" (in English) and for the more serious parts of the evening wear slim-fitting academic robes banded with green, plus large mortarboards which nevertheless perch somewhat precariously on the girls' hijab.</p>
<p>Particularly supportive family members are presented with roses by grateful students. The Dean makes a speech (which I'm afraid no-one much listens to). Teachers also get certificates and thank-you gifts, presented to them individually by the students. Dr Mansoor gets an especially loud cheer when he goes up to receive his. "I've got a pile of them <i>this</i> high now", he whispers on his return.</p>
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<p>The governor of Nejef arrives half-way through the evening to present the awards. "He's standing for re-election", my hosts whisper, "Politicians are the same everywhere." But later they also tell me that he's done a lot of good for the city and they rather like him. He's yet another UK returnee. It seems as though our Iraqi refugee programme, resented though it sometimes was at the time, has turned out to be a significant factor in post-war capacity building.</p>
<p>Both Nejef and Kufa are drowning in electioneering posters, in fact, for the local elections later this month. Enormous, brightly coloured, featuring the candidates' portraits (male and female) and their candidate numbers festoon all the main streets and bridges. My hosts are much amused by one woman standing for election who is using her husband's photograph instead of her own. "Who are we actually supposed to be voting for? Why doesn't he just stand himself?". (Here's a nice report on election posters from <a href="http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/2128/19/Posters-in-elections-land.aspx">Al-Ahram newspaper</a> but no pix unfortunately.)</p>
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<p>It's just as well there have been group photos taken earlier in the evening, however, as the governor's team of minders, together with the local film crews, make it impossible for us to see the actual moment of presentation. Each graduand emerges from the huddle beaming, though, clutching not only their degree certificate but also a box containing high-end smartphone.</p>
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<p>Finally, the governor starts to cut the fancy cakes that have been the centre of my fascinated attention all evening (them and the Christmas-tree decorations). More photos, of students, families and teachers in various combinations, and then it's finally time to go home, full of cake, coca-cola and optimism for the New Numbers and the rest of their generation.</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-68294642857899333092013-04-05T21:07:00.000+01:002013-04-05T21:07:03.782+01:00Fishy business<h2>Wednesday 3rd April, afternoon</h2>
<p>I first had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masgouf"><i>masgouf</i></a> in Baghdad before the war, in a restaurant on the Tigris. Then it was barbecued outside and took almost forever—lots of grumpy jokes about how the Sumerians must have out while waiting for their fish to cook. It's a big delicacy here in the south, though in Kurdistan last May I was told that Kurds <i>never</i> eat it (not quite true, I've since discovered). It's really delicious, though somewhat dangerous as it always comes fully boned. (Siham says there's a saying here that you haven't eaten fish until you've bitten bone. She also says that it's not the one thing to drink water with it, though I did. It <i>is</i> the done thing, however, to follow up with delicious melt-in-the-mouth dates; did that too!)</p>
<p>So it was a real treat to go to a traditional <i>masgouf</i> restaurant here in Kufa, as the lunch guest of Dr Akeel Abd Yasseen. The restaurant surroundings are pretty basic, but it's the real deal, and all the cooking is done in the public courtyard. There's always food in the oven, so waiting times are minimal.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFme5FBwKplUNKTrWzy07hYw5RkLln87fOIPJLf-VfwumW6UU03Lw7oK11db1aXjzjWcRYAOaZ3b1gSbD2cZ1QA5bCZErYfpdROtsrDebPBcm_5KoCGp00S3z3tVsUzHH6GYKFOgC1Pw/s1600/DSCF6778.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFme5FBwKplUNKTrWzy07hYw5RkLln87fOIPJLf-VfwumW6UU03Lw7oK11db1aXjzjWcRYAOaZ3b1gSbD2cZ1QA5bCZErYfpdROtsrDebPBcm_5KoCGp00S3z3tVsUzHH6GYKFOgC1Pw/s320/DSCF6778.JPG" /></a>
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<p>Live fish are kept in the tank and scooped out as needed. There are two wood-fueled tannours for baking the fish, and one for cooking the bread.</p>
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<p>The fish are halved lengthways, gutted and wrapped in foil. Then they're flattened between large metal tong-like instruments and inserted into the tannour. Some people like the innards and eggs too, but they're always baked separately, with onions and tomatoes.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVjr4QzkEdx0QMJaqo-PJ-3x7beVftnZukU6G4RAUgAEuTy7LlOKQFWCdrbpuILJwkc1h8ruKyq9NpKPjGDzOHBAceA3NenPh0B_T0asDydp4F3RsccxoQotFHZyj-4x-GE8QMBuCfq4/s1600/DSCF6772.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVjr4QzkEdx0QMJaqo-PJ-3x7beVftnZukU6G4RAUgAEuTy7LlOKQFWCdrbpuILJwkc1h8ruKyq9NpKPjGDzOHBAceA3NenPh0B_T0asDydp4F3RsccxoQotFHZyj-4x-GE8QMBuCfq4/s320/DSCF6772.JPG" /></a>
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<p>Bread dough is left to prove under a cloth and then expertly flipped around in mid-air to stretch it out. Then the baker slaps the dough onto the inside wall of the tannour using a cushion-like oven-proof thing (my vocabulary is failing me here!) and pulled out again once the air bubbles start to burst.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJDs7k3jCr3HzJU4PVMBSp9a_ZpaXYcATpqRzk7Syejd0zP0QxY3AkNOcI2BgBWs203iInGbe1JSbuJKcu2GbOhM_52xc4cZwGNem253HI_8ifO9_J-Vb4xu7mVKm8c_yF2dlR8GiY2s/s1600/DSCF6766.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJDs7k3jCr3HzJU4PVMBSp9a_ZpaXYcATpqRzk7Syejd0zP0QxY3AkNOcI2BgBWs203iInGbe1JSbuJKcu2GbOhM_52xc4cZwGNem253HI_8ifO9_J-Vb4xu7mVKm8c_yF2dlR8GiY2s/s320/DSCF6766.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GFy11iYP7J27VRlck4sD-56561l9HoTlxCjmI13lhl0jXhjeSHvLUZWUuETZxmD_OGjl8F898_xMk4wRrgK6yorSANmWUvIXJ5Cf5VRzFASoAsStXNfLMX7e1LQvJPYaPQG_j1XR9mQ/s1600/DSCF6767.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GFy11iYP7J27VRlck4sD-56561l9HoTlxCjmI13lhl0jXhjeSHvLUZWUuETZxmD_OGjl8F898_xMk4wRrgK6yorSANmWUvIXJ5Cf5VRzFASoAsStXNfLMX7e1LQvJPYaPQG_j1XR9mQ/s320/DSCF6767.JPG" /></a>
<p>Siham's family were potters by trade, until her grandfather's time, and made tannours like these. I wonder who, if anyone, is making them now?</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLdZr3_ki-ydTSShTl0fy_bwzNaP_rSGJqitCVfGxVqQTueN8UFDvCt1NVDcWiG6x3dGqEVKU51cmMcxkj8cqH6w4f0T-JAfVDxfMv6jRZ-kv_ZdLJz1NpsQMFzGsU8EjikSjcv5R_Gg/s1600/DSCF6771.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLdZr3_ki-ydTSShTl0fy_bwzNaP_rSGJqitCVfGxVqQTueN8UFDvCt1NVDcWiG6x3dGqEVKU51cmMcxkj8cqH6w4f0T-JAfVDxfMv6jRZ-kv_ZdLJz1NpsQMFzGsU8EjikSjcv5R_Gg/s320/DSCF6771.JPG" /></a>
<p>I explained to my hosts that I was making scientific photos of traditional craft practices; they laughingly insisted I photograph the traditional cashier too.</p>
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<p>And then we ate it!</p>
<p>Next up: that evening's graduation party.</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-11902440988439874752013-04-05T20:15:00.000+01:002013-04-07T18:21:15.385+01:00University of Kufa campus tour<h2>Wednesday 3rd April</h2>
<p>Frustratingly, my 8am pick-up didn't transpire this morning, as the driver overslept. We finally got going at 10 o'clock with a tour of the mathematics department, followed by a visit to archaeology and a lunchtime meeting with the University's president. We ended the day at the graduation ceremony/celebration for the 30 mathematics students who have just completed their BSc's here. But the fish, cake and (fizzy, not snorty) coke parts of the day deserve a post to themselves</p>
<p>The university is on a green-field campus half-way between Nejef and Kufa. It was founded in 1987 but was closed down for a few years by Saddam after the 1991 uprisings and then stagnated (as did many Iraqi institutions) during sanctions and the first years of post-war instability. But in the past five years or so the university has come to life again. It has a pretty decent <a href="http://www.uokufa.edu.iq/en/">English-language website</a>, which is worth checking out.</p>
<p>The mathematics department, for instance, was created in 2008, as one half of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. It has five clean, bright classrooms, four of which were in use while I was there, plus a lecture hall which seats 150 and a newly-refurbished graduate seminar room with data projection and interactive whiteboard. The library was full of studious young persons, and they manage to keep up with textbook purchasing. The teaching staff whom I met were all energetic and committed. Statistician Dr Nazera Dakhil, for instance (the woman in the photos with me), splits her life between here in term-time and home in St Albans during the university vacations. Several of their students are winning scholarships for further study in the UK and elsewhere, of whom they are justifiably proud.</p>
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<p><i>Jolly archaeologist Dr Ali Naji is back far right in the first photo; far left in the second. He was there to make sure I actually got to Archaeology and the mathematicians didn't keep me forever! Dr Mansoor is second left (first) and far right, apologising profusely for the delayed schedule. Dr Nazera is next to me; plus the Dean (striped tie) and Deputy Dean (beige jacket) of the Faculty.</i></p>
<p>Compared to my own Cambridge department, however, there are a surprising number of administrative and other support staff, who seem to be rather less busy than their UK counterparts. My colleagues were surprised to discover that I don't have a secretary, for instance. The secretaries I've seen here in Iraq, in universities and cultural heritage institutions, mostly serve as gate-keepers and status symbols, as far as I can see. As discussed at the Chatham House conference session on National resources and the Iraqi economy, the majority of state spending is still on salaries, and job creation is one of the few remaining sources of central government legitimacy.</p>
<p>Once I'd greeted everyone in maths, I was whisked off to the old campus to meet the archaeologists. We were running so late that we had to speed past the excavations of the old city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kufa">Kufa</a>--founded in just 16 AH (637 AD). I never got a chance to see the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mosque_of_Kufa">great mosque of Kufa</a> either, but that's a good reason to come back another time.</p>
<p>The archaeology and cultural department's housed in a former hospital. Sadly I had hardly any time there. A quick chat with the Dean, Dr Taher Al-Waely, in his office with gold-brick wallpaper, about the frustrating lack of cultural heritage legislation at a time when huge construction projects are going up all over the place. Then to my lecture, which I had cobbled together from a course I used to give in Cambridge, given in another very well appointed lecture room.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0Ml2Ix59gXl7LnKMCbSx2yMn1wecvAr6W1a5GxSuzsEsv_W6BbBU7satWc6-8mLhPetFhaWTNeatUAl57uRIi4NIf4wEmD_PgbjxpY_ibx8k0mMMaVd8VWVDgSXgzEiB3iovQFpCDd8/s1600/DSCF6748.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0Ml2Ix59gXl7LnKMCbSx2yMn1wecvAr6W1a5GxSuzsEsv_W6BbBU7satWc6-8mLhPetFhaWTNeatUAl57uRIi4NIf4wEmD_PgbjxpY_ibx8k0mMMaVd8VWVDgSXgzEiB3iovQFpCDd8/s320/DSCF6748.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Mhe1zZK7bm_9V-j14iWCftAzCd1J9evkr8wB2toyO_u6P0ZAb66qo9Qt6YZ-mjTzordi3JcDc9V-wmvXwIyEG8gm3ORWSx6JZZ5YXg9tvk1jENjOJ64geNXISweLbc4DgEGq4XxBebk/s1600/DSCF6749.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Mhe1zZK7bm_9V-j14iWCftAzCd1J9evkr8wB2toyO_u6P0ZAb66qo9Qt6YZ-mjTzordi3JcDc9V-wmvXwIyEG8gm3ORWSx6JZZ5YXg9tvk1jENjOJ64geNXISweLbc4DgEGq4XxBebk/s320/DSCF6749.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjN7Mo8h037JaYEU_Pelc783IUd7VvTcsleFTf2amMof1tXeVCVKplItXsbifQPx8jpI9hUwk1V7Oj9b5dIIWzSkLGK_3sOHhb5790oZI4_bb1AOr1mu7dEPuaDz86kpY2Jo1AYLGezc/s1600/DSCF6750.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjN7Mo8h037JaYEU_Pelc783IUd7VvTcsleFTf2amMof1tXeVCVKplItXsbifQPx8jpI9hUwk1V7Oj9b5dIIWzSkLGK_3sOHhb5790oZI4_bb1AOr1mu7dEPuaDz86kpY2Jo1AYLGezc/s320/DSCF6750.JPG" /></a>
<p><i>In the front row are Dr Mansoor (far right of first pic), Dr Siham and Mr Mu'amal (second pic). The Dean of Archaeology and Dr Ali Naji flank me on the podium. Note the fancy projection screen above the banner made in my honour! (There are lots of banners here.)</i></p>
<p>I'd been asked to speak on European views of ancient Iraq, so I gave a simple history of the origins of Assyriology. I talked about the importance of Classics and Biblical study in the early 19th century, and the unfavourable views they presented of their threatening eastern enemies/neighbours. I also talked about the geopolitical importance of the region as a potential shortcut to India and the Far East, so that the earliest systematic explorations related to mapping and surveying. And then I gave a quick overview of the professionalisation of archaeology: from collecting beautiful and curious things for museums to systematic, documented stratigraphic excavation. My aim was to explain why Westerners had become interested in the first place, how entangled in politics Assyriology and archaeology have always been, and how Biblical and Classical obsessions focussed attention on the ancient rather than the Islamic past.</p>
<p>It generated a gratifyingly lively debate amongst my colleagues but frustratingly I got whipped away again, this time to meet the president of the university, <a href="http://ihe.britishcouncil.org/going-global/speakers/professor-akeel-yasseen">Dr Akeel Abd Yasseen</a>. A geneticist with a PhD from the University of Ulster, he took over the presidency a couple of years ago and has been vigorously engaged in improving the university's national and international standing. He's particularly keen on improving the (British) English-language abilities of his students and staff and on providing facilities for visiting researchers.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3i7mv0k6UULfgcFrx-iXOzQrg75V-4AblPEujSTHSqxzcW7zRucNKA8LBFoeeFeRgUEmFE3WPQi53Nhe_8YOSpIZiuXo5B79_G1i8Uu4j2l3S2YadNh7Bl9jEc4qzitaTGJI_D77Uknc/s1600/DSCF6756.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3i7mv0k6UULfgcFrx-iXOzQrg75V-4AblPEujSTHSqxzcW7zRucNKA8LBFoeeFeRgUEmFE3WPQi53Nhe_8YOSpIZiuXo5B79_G1i8Uu4j2l3S2YadNh7Bl9jEc4qzitaTGJI_D77Uknc/s320/DSCF6756.JPG" /></a>
<p><i>In the president's office, standing l-r: Dr Ali Naji; expat <a href="http://www.owp.csus.edu/research/staff/ramzi-mahmood.php">Professor Ramzi Mahmoud</a> of California State University, Sacramento, fellow conference-attendee whom everyone teases because he's half-forgotten how to speak Arabic; QA director Dr Ahmad Al-Imarah; the Dean of Sciences, with a PhD from Cardiff (I love a Welsh Iraqi accent!); Dr Mansoor, Dr Abbas (see below); seated, l-r: Siham, me, Dr Akeel, and (second right) <a href="http://www.ucd.ie/conway/research/researchers/conwayfellowsa-z/professormohammedal-rubeai/">Professor Mohammed Al-Rubaie</a> of UC Dublin.</i></p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27NdsyghbiHew3AJthCoLNQJSOvsoJXkNGI6IBa3Ag3Sl2F0WjXuITUo44ILvV3niDBgdnwFuvJQQk0AQ7_hYkipg8SHFKMdp72HfwkkDxQWP-XoTE4RZPQAeLPB9WEmPM7yCynIaowc/s1600/DSCF6758.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27NdsyghbiHew3AJthCoLNQJSOvsoJXkNGI6IBa3Ag3Sl2F0WjXuITUo44ILvV3niDBgdnwFuvJQQk0AQ7_hYkipg8SHFKMdp72HfwkkDxQWP-XoTE4RZPQAeLPB9WEmPM7yCynIaowc/s320/DSCF6758.JPG" /></a>
<p><i>Ramzi and Mohammed are regular visitors and advisors, another way in which Iraqi academics abroad contribute to their country's academic regeneration. Here Dr Akeel and Mohammed share a joke. (There are always lots of jokes.)</i></p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDzFEtLo0HFp-rnU0ODazctoiE_lFhwki7u40-jUL4c_vFQtfW2qIOiy4HhSOBOFwzyPmyBhNTT9sR13xqGNKcelOwqwi6YtMV2e80608SaWN0hgqfrc8FppOCektVCEmWPurhyphenhyphenL7llk/s1600/DSCF6752.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDzFEtLo0HFp-rnU0ODazctoiE_lFhwki7u40-jUL4c_vFQtfW2qIOiy4HhSOBOFwzyPmyBhNTT9sR13xqGNKcelOwqwi6YtMV2e80608SaWN0hgqfrc8FppOCektVCEmWPurhyphenhyphenL7llk/s320/DSCF6752.JPG" /></a>
<p><i>I am presented with my certificate of conference attendance—which has to be reprinted twice because Dr Akeel rightly won't stand for typos in the English, whether of "Kambridge" (as in Kufa, of course) or of his own name and title!</i></p>
<p>The university's advisor for international relations, Dr Abbas Al-Aboudy, was also at the meeting. He's a more recent UK returnee, a practising surgeon with plans to expand the teaching hospital here, with a special focus on paediatrics and neonatal care. There's a deep well of Anglophone Anglophilia amongst older-generation Iraqi academics, plus the youngsters who are now going out on scholarships. BBC World was on mute on the big flat-screen TV in Dr Akeel's office and at one point the conversation turned to the relative merits of Eastenders vs. Coronation Street!</p>
<p>(A blast from the past at one point, when an <i>enormously</i> fat military man came in, sporting a huge, and now deeply unfashionable Baathist moustache and a giant turquoise ring. He had a leisurely chat to Dr Akeel and then wandered off again; his presence remained entirely unexplained. I wish I'd had the cheek to photograph him...)</p>
<p>On our way to lunch, Dr Akeel took us to see the new guest house which is about to open, comprising several well-appointed apartments and even a gym in the basement. Next stop was a new staff canteen neear the university library--there's currently nowhere for staff to socialise or eat together. There will also be a bank and a supermarket nearby. Stupidly, I had left my camera in the car so I can't show you any of this. But as far as I could tell, all of these projects are being finished to a higher standard of taste and quality control than one often sees here. And it's very interesting that the university is investing in this sort of research support infrastructure. It's streets ahead of poor old Qadissiya university, which I <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/iraqi-history-ancient-and-modern.html">visited last October</a>.</p>
<p>Next stop: an authentic <i>masgouf</i> restaurant: yum!</p>Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161050371666315110.post-58468259649193250442013-04-05T12:35:00.000+01:002013-04-05T16:00:32.026+01:00Old Nejef: khan, souk and shrine<h2>Tuesday 2nd April (evening)</h2>
<p>Yesterday's group outing to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najaf">Nejef</a> city centre took in the old caravanserai Khan Shailan, some of the souk, and most importantly the shrine of Imam <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali">Ali</a>, the prophet's son-in-law and cousin and the fourth caliph, who ruled from nearby Kufa and was buried here in 40 AH (661 CE). That was pretty amazing for me as a historian as he represents the very beginnings of Islam in Iraq.</p>
<p>At the other end of the historical scale, Khan Shailan is an Ottoman-period caravanserai, or inn, in which ten British soldiers were imprisoned during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_revolt_against_the_British">1920 uprising</a> against the British occupiers. The building had fallen into disrepair over the 20th century, compounded by shell damage during the 2003 war, and earlier concrete "restoration" which had collapsed. Local archaeologists and civil engineers have just finished a rather splendid restoration project on it. There are now plans to turn it into a museum of the uprising.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGSpO9cxHL121sFE-NRx6XOsjes7z8dqVviUiyETyiEtKEbOBS5bqlcRFEH72MAJewGcmg00-PuJgHN03lA7CD1AlC5VTPHbI_xyBjPHy-IT9iDckFcjJrUQb0ohLTP9u-EDYtqpDFzY/s1600/DSCF6707.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGSpO9cxHL121sFE-NRx6XOsjes7z8dqVviUiyETyiEtKEbOBS5bqlcRFEH72MAJewGcmg00-PuJgHN03lA7CD1AlC5VTPHbI_xyBjPHy-IT9iDckFcjJrUQb0ohLTP9u-EDYtqpDFzY/s320/DSCF6707.JPG" /></a>
<p>Dr Ali Neji introducing us to the building</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNO6MK9EFiXvvFSStjgVpaHuqpoAfdvo7MpvxOQOQz4LBHouJ7tilpAoGNNzxv5x5Ox2PHpnlQMRv5n-I9BARm2Mti6yXpXEg4aNfKp693yNY0OpBIya1PCASURiVIWToSJpe2WvhuQc/s1600/DSCF6709.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNO6MK9EFiXvvFSStjgVpaHuqpoAfdvo7MpvxOQOQz4LBHouJ7tilpAoGNNzxv5x5Ox2PHpnlQMRv5n-I9BARm2Mti6yXpXEg4aNfKp693yNY0OpBIya1PCASURiVIWToSJpe2WvhuQc/s320/DSCF6709.JPG" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNwc0gFgloAfeGhnE0t4lijSt9B0ARkk6CG0RhBUZNk1ZCWRndtN8UaGn4RlFCsx5n6hSADvzUWQlvpwpguP_WfJM-RcHMOq47xyfbcd5lAz7ewlHYhz7CRZSGFro-a3fvJolkq-sNJ0/s1600/DSCF6718.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNwc0gFgloAfeGhnE0t4lijSt9B0ARkk6CG0RhBUZNk1ZCWRndtN8UaGn4RlFCsx5n6hSADvzUWQlvpwpguP_WfJM-RcHMOq47xyfbcd5lAz7ewlHYhz7CRZSGFro-a3fvJolkq-sNJ0/s320/DSCF6718.JPG" /></a>
<p>The main courtyard (with, below, Dr Ali Hassan and Dr Ebtisam the computer specialist, with whom I discussed mentoring women academics yesterday; and my lovely translator Dr Siham).</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fm984BfqCn9SF3hLGOhmjnY1vGHP73Dxe47fgX13s4zN1OUdE3M5YFLimwfHycdRPXc9rJlFph9ACcP8x_kgWjZTidFx9VSIE6da0ZY85ijepAmJ5_tdN1pcutoTmGqV-sczOzDXNcA/s1600/DSCF6711.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fm984BfqCn9SF3hLGOhmjnY1vGHP73Dxe47fgX13s4zN1OUdE3M5YFLimwfHycdRPXc9rJlFph9ACcP8x_kgWjZTidFx9VSIE6da0ZY85ijepAmJ5_tdN1pcutoTmGqV-sczOzDXNcA/s320/DSCF6711.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ke4sdZkU8FWVZeSa8icwD3K5NquMHBeaqCzZgswJcoedW3pK5plcytPvEO1yd-4F8y7Ao8mz6O55ly1HmmET8skAwowNZOBpMaQrE-DfmgSxFaNcaKJwpoaaprQM0qvAwt3AW4ebOk0/s1600/DSCF6717.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ke4sdZkU8FWVZeSa8icwD3K5NquMHBeaqCzZgswJcoedW3pK5plcytPvEO1yd-4F8y7Ao8mz6O55ly1HmmET8skAwowNZOBpMaQrE-DfmgSxFaNcaKJwpoaaprQM0qvAwt3AW4ebOk0/s320/DSCF6717.JPG" /></a>
<p>Lots of beautiful traditional brickwork, including some impressive (restored) ceilings and the charcoal sketches left by the British soldiers: mostly head-and-shoulders drawings of people but also a rather sad-looking horse. One of a young woman in a hat, whom the archaeologists say must have been the fiancée of one of the captives! The tour was led by the knowledgeable Dr Ali Naji Attiyah, and Mr Mu'amal, who are closely involved in the restoration work here and in the rest of the old town. Mu'amal (whose hand you can see pointing to the sketch) wrote his MA thesis on the building.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSY6MLMoi1F-RUFQ-QQqERMtbAJ0sDPKQ8gZ2bOTgwqvlNTCFK9reZS5650mtRehR1f5K2HpFn_07X_8gMQJUG2TnVylGMAaGPJJB9IdYAW34Hrvf78WnZCLeAPam5lBswxDiwc8-ZVOI/s1600/DSCF6712.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSY6MLMoi1F-RUFQ-QQqERMtbAJ0sDPKQ8gZ2bOTgwqvlNTCFK9reZS5650mtRehR1f5K2HpFn_07X_8gMQJUG2TnVylGMAaGPJJB9IdYAW34Hrvf78WnZCLeAPam5lBswxDiwc8-ZVOI/s320/DSCF6712.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl72YGpzGmRUlUhdVbmdtptoR12rCkC-74G3aAG4P5_6A9_drJqjA_fWWRZO9aEcNzkcDQ1jWf3CTKCgLFHD0A-sbOkkPxBlpy0qWzR74GcHU9kg0Lnxl2tcBNyFLBcgucrj5mKsOb5Q/s1600/DSCF6723.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidl72YGpzGmRUlUhdVbmdtptoR12rCkC-74G3aAG4P5_6A9_drJqjA_fWWRZO9aEcNzkcDQ1jWf3CTKCgLFHD0A-sbOkkPxBlpy0qWzR74GcHU9kg0Lnxl2tcBNyFLBcgucrj5mKsOb5Q/s320/DSCF6723.JPG" /></a>
<p>It features traditional air-conditioning features: open-topped rooms which act as ventilation shafts to draw air in from the roof, and a sirdab, or basement, which is naturally cool in summer and warm in winter. We couldn't go down, as it's still full of construction equipment, but could feel the drop in temperature even from the top of the stairs.</p>
<p>On the way to the shrine we passed through the souk, mostly just the usual clothing, shoes and housewares, plus large mounds of sticky pastries and sweets. But there were also some very fine silver and goldsmiths near the main entrance to the shrine. Here and there one can see glimpses of old walls, including the now rather delapidated remains of a once very prominent madrasa (first photo below).</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGgaw-43_klgY7-1tw23CTnkc9HF3iQN-UajJPzYQfTBgXK29X39OMpzb_IPbu_Kmctxrr6pSdymjkbP3HNB1l2PkmuMUFUD7R70ZC4xfZBOOs6l6UnCl8ai7lBspIBgts3bqWbjlDM4/s1600/DSCF6728.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGgaw-43_klgY7-1tw23CTnkc9HF3iQN-UajJPzYQfTBgXK29X39OMpzb_IPbu_Kmctxrr6pSdymjkbP3HNB1l2PkmuMUFUD7R70ZC4xfZBOOs6l6UnCl8ai7lBspIBgts3bqWbjlDM4/s320/DSCF6728.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpFLtLUxClqAV8j4rUiB70Ywp48oN__AGKkp_8xD9XFOQEm6olQEUF2tr8lr_TDgnJfjKpt-X3n3Kh2qFEkQq1i3QyswXwCBdwbB43_PZdNLf6twVPrv6JY_AfgXPmctYWuyuDkZ2_pQ/s1600/DSCF6731.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpFLtLUxClqAV8j4rUiB70Ywp48oN__AGKkp_8xD9XFOQEm6olQEUF2tr8lr_TDgnJfjKpt-X3n3Kh2qFEkQq1i3QyswXwCBdwbB43_PZdNLf6twVPrv6JY_AfgXPmctYWuyuDkZ2_pQ/s320/DSCF6731.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDtSmxmvbBFAVfb9j1L-7H8NnIvece1oE6bWj_Bg-L3YDI_WCUY08U9aFxsRyuqzZNdVtmaprEhgmLTI04MkMYoMcLekOYE_Ge0Eim_ZlLwbf2-T_mxlAnEzT3o0n9WvXUs5M6Fu0N5g/s1600/DSCF6729.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDtSmxmvbBFAVfb9j1L-7H8NnIvece1oE6bWj_Bg-L3YDI_WCUY08U9aFxsRyuqzZNdVtmaprEhgmLTI04MkMYoMcLekOYE_Ge0Eim_ZlLwbf2-T_mxlAnEzT3o0n9WvXUs5M6Fu0N5g/s320/DSCF6729.JPG" /></a>
<p>Night had fallen by the time we reached the shrine, whose entrances were crowded with people. Pilgrims regularly come from Iran, Pakistan, and all over the world. Apart from the brightly lit gates there's not much to see from the outside, and indeed no obvious vantage point to see it from, as there are no large open spaces around it. Rather, all the action, and all the splendour, is on the inside.</p>
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<p><a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.com/2012/10/welcomed-to-heart-of-shia-islam.html">At the shrines of Imam Ali and Imam Hussein</a> in Kerbala, <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-shrine-pix.html">I took copious photos</a> as that was what I was there for. It wasn't so appropriate to do that this time, so I don't have any pictures of the main courtyard, apart from the few that Dr Ali took of <a href="http://bisi1932.blogspot.com/2013/04/at-imam-alis-shrine.html">me with Siham and Ebtisam</a>. I can't find any decent pictures of the courtyard on Google either. But it is similar in scale to Imam Ali's shrine in Kerbala, though with a rather different colour-scheme to the tiling. Here the emphasis is on yellow-gold, with recessed panels of cream and green. Most is relatively modern but Dr Ali Naji pointed out two large panels of very fine Safavid tiling higher up, on the central building surrounding the shrine itself. The archaeologists persuaded the shrine authorities not to replace these, even bringing in an expert from Iran to explain the historical uniqueness of the dusky pink glazing that they feature.</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3tAoZcAi8TXmTlaexEMThBstkv7GFjp5Ty2T9hPfJYLq0LfgOgoDx73o_Ql670TIn1WdS8ylXyytOnVGPqyGynFZT_Pjfy-2TV1LhF-y2BRYmFR3jdCCBnP-wSXWQ4JS2-oJY-VIu4E/s1600/DSCF6736.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3tAoZcAi8TXmTlaexEMThBstkv7GFjp5Ty2T9hPfJYLq0LfgOgoDx73o_Ql670TIn1WdS8ylXyytOnVGPqyGynFZT_Pjfy-2TV1LhF-y2BRYmFR3jdCCBnP-wSXWQ4JS2-oJY-VIu4E/s320/DSCF6736.JPG" /></a>
<p>In the reception room at the back of the shrine (where later we drank lemon sherbet and I quietly coveted the carpets), Dr Ali showed me the restoration and preservation project that they are implementing in the old city. At the back of the shrine (to the right in the photo), during the Saddam era a huge swathe of buildings was swept away to make way for an underground car park. A gigantic pit was dug, without any archaeological recording. (We walked past it later in the evening: it is <i>enormous</i> and one can see the remains of graves in the sides.) This area will now become extension to the mosque which will pretty much quadruple its size. This will provide facilities for the many millions of pilgrims and visitors the shrine receives every year. There are also plans for the heritage buildings in the old town too (which are the darker ones on the plan), so that they don't get demolished to make way for pilgrim hotels and the like.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most moving part of the visit, though, was when Siham took me through the women's entrance to see (and touch) the tomb of Imam Ali himself. Many of the women surrounding us had come hundreds, even thousands, of miles for this, often at great personal expense, and the intensity of their emotion was palpable (as indeed were some of their elbows). For Siham, and some of the other Nejefi women academics I talked to, the shrine is an integral part of their lives. It is a place to come for contemplation and reflection (more easily achieved in the outer courtyard, where it is easy and natural to establish private space), especially in times of trouble or stress. (No doubt many men would say the same; but I haven't tended to have those sorts of conversations with them.)</p>
<p>Given the upheavals of the past few decades, the lives lost and the families broken, I can see how vital Shi'a Islam has been in healing indeividual sadness and anger. In the shrine I was also reflecting on Hayder al-Khoei's words at Chatham House the other week, about how tolerant the Shi'a population of Iraq have been in the face of repeated Sunni attacks on their places of worship over the past decade. (It's the main security risk now: later, in Baghdad, one of the Embassy security staff briefs me that the only real targets these days are Shi'a gatherings outside the holy cities, and high-profile election candidates.)</p>
<p>As we leave the shrine, at about 9pm, it suddenly hits me that I have been awake for pretty much 36 hours non-stop now. I beg off dinner and don't even manage to stay awake in the car to the hotel. Somehow I have to get a decent night's sleep <i>and</i> prepare a half-hour lecture for the Archaeology department (on European views of ancient Iraq) before 8am tomorrow morning...</p>
Eleanor Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176357819375308947noreply@blogger.com0