IW&A Blog: Dr. Leon De Meyer (1928-2006)

November 15, 2006

Dr. Leon De Meyer (1928-2006)

I just learned that Dr. Leon de Meyer, the doyen of Assyriology in Belgium, passed away about two weeks ago. His family gave him a quiet burial and only made it public now. He was rector or president of the Rijksuniversiteit Gent as it was still called in 1985-1993 (now Universiteit Gent).

He led the Belgian excavations at Tell el-Der (ancient Sippar) in Iraq which among other things found the Archive of Ur-Utu a.k.a. the Sippar Library. This collection of cuneiform tablets was found still on its shelves, a unique find (see for instance my note on a lecture on an aspect of this archive at the 2005 Rencontre). He also was the driving force behind the Assyriological Center (formerly Foundation) Georges Dossin and its journal Akkadica. He was was given the title of baron in 1992.

He was an outspoken advocate of the archaeological heritage of Iraq and was active from the beginning in international efforts to mitigate the destructive impact of the Iraq War. He last joined the September 23 appeal by prominent archaeologists to the Iraqi authorities (see my November 1 post We, the undersigned, ...). The Universiteit Gent will hold a special academic session in his honor on November 20 (for details, unfortunately only in Dutch, see Universiteit Gent).

References
• F. Verhoest, "Rector Leon De Meyer maakte Gentse universiteit weer trots. Postuum," in De Standaard (Belgium), November 15, 2006
• "Herdenkingszitting ererector Leon De Meyer (14-11-2006)," in Universiteit Gent (Belgium), online, November 14, 2006

# posted by Francis Deblauwe @ 8:18 AM

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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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