IW&A Blog: Ossendrijver Iraq photos, 1

October 12, 2006

Ossendrijver Iraq photos, 1

This is the 1st installment in a series of photographs I will publish here (on an irregular time schedule). They were taken by Dr. Mathieu Ossendrijver (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany) when he participated in a trip to Iraq organized by the Orientalisches Seminar of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Germany) in October 2000. They form interesting documentary evidence of the condition of several archaeological sites only a couple of years before the Iraq War. Mathieu has been so kind to allow me to publish them here. If you'd like to use his photos, please contact him. I start with pictures taken at el-Meda'in/Salman Pak better known under its ancient name Ctesiphon. This site which now lies almost in the suburbs of Baghdad was at one time a capital of the Partian and Sassanid empires. As a hub of empire it succeeded the neighboring Seleucia-on-the-Tigris (Seleucid empire) and was itself later succeeded by nearby Baghdad (Abassid empire). Its most famous still standing structure is the 4th-cent.-AD Taq-i Kisra with its great arch (80 ft wide by 160 ft long; see Keall for more info). The arch is still the original one but for example the north wing of this throne hall has been reconstructed (collapsed in a late-19th-cent.-AD earthquake):

See also University of Chicago Oriental Institute. Archaeological Site Photography. I am not really sure what is in this final photo, maybe someone can help me out? Are these remains of fortifications?

References
• E.J. Keall, "Ayvan (or Taq)-e Khosrow," in The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (UK), online, n.d.
• "Ctesiphon," in University of Chicago Oriental Institute. Archaeological Site Photography, online, November 15, 2001
• "Iraq Heritage Program. Ctesiphon," in Global Heritage Fund, online, n.d.

# posted by Francis Deblauwe @ 11:58 PM

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Site links

A few web links

• Lost Treasures from Iraq (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
• Iraqcrisis (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
• The Threat to World Heritage in Iraq (Oxford University)
• Informed Comment (Dr. Juan Cole, University of Michigan)
• The Guardian, Iraq section
• The New York Times, Iraq War section
• The New Yorker, From the Archive: The War in Iraq
• Iraqi Press Monitor(Institute for War & Peace Reporting)

IW&A Documents series

1 - A. Riedlmayer, Yes, the Oil Ministry Was Guarded!, May 7, 2003, updated May 17, 2003
2 - D. George, Iraq Museum Policy for Access to the Collection for Study, December 8, 2004
3 - J.M. Russell, Notes from Iraq session at AIA meeting in Boston, 1/8/05, January 10, 2005
4 - F. Deblauwe, Attending RAI 51. Observations on the 51e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Chicago, July 17-23, 2005, August 5, 2005, last updated September 16, 2005
5 - R. Teijgeler, "So Yesterday Was the Burning of Books" — Wartime in Iraq. ..., October 5, 2005
6 - F. Deblauwe, Note on John Russell's Lecture 'Recovering Iraq's Past' in St. Louis on November 5, 2005, November 16, 2005
7 - An Appeal for the Release of Susanne Osthoff, December 4, 2005, updated December 8, 2005
8 - R. Parapetti, Partial Reopening of the Iraq Museum, Work in Progress, March 27, 2006
9 - F. Deblauwe, The State of Preservation of the Neo-Assyrian Reliefs at Khinnis/Bavian, May 14, 2006
10 - F. Deblauwe, Donny George's Exile and the State of the SBAH, November 11, 2006

Running tally of sites looted and damaged in the course of the Iraq War

(very preliminary and grossly incomplete list based on the articles listed on this web site; modern name followed by possible variants between square brackets and, if known, by ancient name(s) between parentheses; initial "el-" does not count for alphabeticizing; look up names with and without an initial "Tell") ($ = looted; # = damaged)

Abbas el-Kurdi $
Abu Shahrain (Eridu) #
Abu Skehr $
Adr el-Sa'id $
'Ana #
Babil (Babylon, Babel) $#
→ Bavian - see Khinnis
Birs Nimrud (Borsippa) $
Bismayyah (Adab) $
→ Chokha - see Tell Jokha
Dahaileh $
Dair Mar Elia [St. Elijah's Monastery] #
Dhahir [el-Dhaara?] (Dubrum) $
Drehem (Puzrish-Dagan) $
Fara (Shuruppak) $
Farwa $
el-Hadr (Hatra) $#
Ishan Bakhriyyat (Isin) $
Khinnis [Khines, Khuns, Bavian] (Khunusa) #
Kirkuk [Kerkük] (Arrapha) #
Kuyunjik [Koyunjuk] (Nineveh, Ninua) $
el-Meda'in [Madaen, Salman Pak, Sulman Pak] (Ctesiphon, Tisfun) $
el-Medinah [Tell el-Meda'in] (Bad-Tibira) $
Nimrud (Kalkhu, Calah) $
Nuffar (Nippur) $
el-Qusair $
→ Salman Pak - see el-Meda'in
Samarra (Souma, Sumere, Sumra, Surra Man Ra'a) #
→ St. Elijah's Monastery - see Dair Mar Elia
Tal Afar [Telafar] #
Tell Abu Antik [Abu Antiq] $
Tell Abu Duwari (Mashkan-Shapir) $
Tell Ibzeikh (Zabalam) $
Tell Jokha [Chokha] (Umma) $
Tell el-Lahm [Tal Laham, al-Lham] (Kisiga) $
Tell el-Muqayyar (Ur) $
Tell el-Namil [Tell Naml/Neml, el-Namel] $ *
Tell Senkereh (Larsa) $
Tell Shmid [Shmet] $
Tell Sifr (Kutalla) $
Tell el-Wilayah (Larak) $
Telloh (Girsu) $
Umm el-Aqarib [Um el-Ajareb, Um Alkarab] $
Umm el-Hafriyyat $
Umm el-Hashin $
Warka (Uruk) $
el-Yusufiyyah #

• ? (subsite of Kish excavated by a Japanese team; possibly Akkad) $

• Unidentified sites in the Diyala province $

• Early historic village site near Tell el-Ubaid $

• Smaller sites a few km from Warka (Uruk) $

• Fisk June 3, 2003 also mentions "Tukulti, Tel el-Zabul, ... Tel el-Jbeit, Tel el-Dihab and Kulal-Jabr" but I can't identify or place them properly

• Note: good maps for sites in southern, northwestern and northeastern Iraq can be found at the The threat to world heritage in Iraq site

Please join in these e-mail writing / petition actions:

1) Handelsverbot für Hehlerware aus Raubgrabungen (Prohibition of trade in looted artifacts)
2) Statement read at the Workshop 'The Threat to Iraq’s Cultural Heritage – Current Status and Future Prospects' (July 23, 2005)(at the occasion of the 51st RAI in Chicago)

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