U.S. Congress Cites Faculty-Student Research on Antiquities Trafficking

U.S. Congress Cites Faculty-Student Research on Antiquities Trafficking

April 27, 2016

Large scale and systematic looting and destruction of antiquities in Iraq and Syria has both enriched terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and resulted in the destruction of cultural heritage in the area. In response, a task force of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services recently convened a hearing on “Preventing Cultural Genocide: Countering the Plunder and Sale of Priceless Cultural Antiquities by ISIS.” The official hearing memo uses a large bloc quote and other citations from the research of Middlebury Institute Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies students Marc Elliott MANPTS ’16 and Jonathan Prohov MANPTS ’16 and their mentor and professor, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Russ Howard MBA ’74.

Congressional staff contacted Howard, who also serves as the director of the Institute’s Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program for his personal insight on the matter before the hearing. The resulting briefing memo quoted from and later cited the article “Digging in and Trafficking Out: How the Destruction of Cultural Heritage Funds,” co-written by the two students and Howard and published in the West Point Combating Terrorism Center’s Sentinel newsletter. 

The Institute team also contributed as full and cited members in the Antiquities Coalition #CultureUnderThreat Task Force Report “Recommendations for the US Government.” Said Elliott: “For my colleague Jonathan Prohov and I, the opportunity to work as researchers and co-authors with General Howard on the MonTREP Antiquities Project allowed us to continually build momentum with our publications and eventually reach policy makers at the highest levels.” The grant-funded research on this issue that the students have been working on with Howard through the course of their two years at the Institute will cumulate in the publication of a final monograph on the Islamic State and antiquities trafficking slated by the Joint Special Operations University Press later this year. 

“We hope that the piece will continue to reach policy makers in both civilian and military circles,” adds Elliott, who will be working in the financial crimes compliance field after graduating in May. Elliott currently serves as the president of the Student Terrorism Studies Club, and worked with Howard to organize a major conference on trafficking in antiquities, “Culture in Crossfire 2016,” at the Institute last March. “The recent recognition of our team’s work by Congress, the Antiquities Coalition Task Force report and other important stakeholders exemplifies the unique opportunities that students at the Institute have while working with faculty who are also practitioners.” 

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The Antiquities Coalition Applauds Congressional Action to Counter Illicit Trade in Blood Antiquities

The Antiquities Coalition Applauds Congressional Action to Counter Illicit Trade in Blood Antiquities

Bill’s Passage Advances U.S. Leadership in the Fight Against Cultural Crimes and Terrorist Financing

WASHINGTON, DC (April 27, 2016): Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act (H.R. 1493/S. 1887). This legislation closes U.S. borders to plundered Syrian art, and in the process, will help to cut off a critical source of terrorist financing: Since the 2011 Arab Spring, violent extremist organizations like Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS) have increasingly armed their cause through the looting and trafficking of “blood antiquities” pillaged from the Cradle of Civilization.

The Antiquities Coalition thanks Representative Eliot Engel of New York—H.R. 1493’s sponsor—for his leadership and dedication, as well as the bill’s co-sponsors in the House, Representatives Smith (NJ), Royce (CA), and Keating (MA), as well as Senators Casey, Grassley, and Perdue in the Senate.

“The Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act is a critical, bipartisan demonstration of American leadership,” said Deborah Lehr, Chair and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition. “The looting of antiquities is a direct threat to American national security and to humanity’s shared heritage. By closing the U.S. market to blood antiquities from Syria, the United States is cutting off a key source of terrorist financing. We applaud Congress, along with the many individual citizens and groups whose hard work and dedication made the passage of this bill possible, and look forward to working with them all to ensure its implementation.”

H.R. 1493/S. 1887 restricts the import of Syrian antiquities illegally removed from the country since 15 March 2011—the start of the Syrian Civil—building on restrictions in place for Iraqi antiquities since 2004. It additionally will fulfill the United States’ obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2199 of February 2015 to cut off terrorist financing to Daesh, the Al-Nusrah Front, and Al Qaeda from antiquities, hostages, and oil.

“Despite Security Council Resolution 2199, for the last 14 months, U.S. borders have remained open to conflict antiquities from Syria,” said Tess Davis, Executive Director of the Antiquities Coalition. “It is critical that President Obama promptly sign this important bill into law. Since the United States makes up 43% of the global art market, and leads world demand for licit and illicit antiquities, we can also deal a major blow to the black market overall.”

The bill’s passage follows the release of #CultureUnderThreat: Recommendations for the U.S. Government by the Antiquities Coalition, Asia Society, and the Middle East Institute. This report calls on Congress to expeditiously pass H.R. 1493/S. 1887, along with 30 other proposed steps for the Administration, Congress, United Nations, and art market. It was compiled by a Task Force of experts in the heritage, law enforcement, national security, business, and technology communities. The report is the first ever comprehensive action plan issued to confront the growing threats that cultural racketeering and cultural cleansing represent to heritage and to national security.

About the Antiquities Coalition

The Antiquities Coalition is leading the global fight against cultural racketeering: the illicit trade in antiquities by organized criminals and terrorist organizations. This plunder for profit funds crime and conflict around the world — erasing our past and threatening our future. The Coalition’s innovative and practical solutions tackle crimes against heritage head on, empowering communities and countries in crisis. Learn more at www.theantiquitiescoalition.org.

Italian Embassy Spotlights Efforts to Protect Humanity’s Heritage

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Italian Embassy Spotlights Efforts to Protect Humanity’s Heritage

By Anna Gawel

Uploaded on April 26, 2016

Art is a source of pride for countries. It can also be a source of income that fuels crime and conflict, robbing nations of their storied pasts. The trafficking of antiquities is a multibillion-dollar global enterprise — a phenomenon starkly illustrated by the Islamic State, which has ransacked ancient archeological sites to bankroll its rampage through Iraq and Syria.

While the Islamic State’s exploitation of national treasures has shined a light on the issue, cultural heritage can be threatened for any number of reasons, from opportunistic looters to urban development.

As part of the Italian presidency of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture), the Italian Embassy is hosting a series of events around the theme of “Protecting our Heritage” through 2016. The initiative examines ways to safeguard and preserve the cultural heritage of humanity in the face of war, international terrorism, crime syndicates, climate change and the simple passage of time.

“We are the caretakers of the cultural legacy inherited from past generations,” said Italy’s former ambassador to the U.S., Claudio Bisogniero, in a press release. “The aim of ‘Protecting our Heritage’ is to help bring the international community together in an effort to save our shared and most beloved memories.”

“Rovine Palmira #2” by Massimiliano Gatti was on display at the Embassy of Italy as part of an exhibit that explored the toll Syria’s civil war has wrought on the ancient desert city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Center.Photo: Massimiliano Gatti / Italian Cultural Institute
“Rovine Palmira #2” by Massimiliano Gatti was on display at the Embassy of Italy as part of an exhibit that explored the toll Syria’s civil war has wrought on the ancient desert city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Center.Photo: Massimiliano Gatti / Italian Cultural Institute

Franco Impalà, first secretary at the Italian Embassy, told the Diplomatic Pouch that while change and progress are inevitable, they should not come at the expense of the past. “We’re not trying to say that nothing can change and everything has to stay the same, but this is our shared history. There’s a reason it’s still here.”

That history is constantly being endangered not only by violence, extremism and environmental degradation, but also by simple human neglect, Impalà added, citing the example of the sinking Italian city of Venice and its perennial battle against water. But he stressed that “Protecting our Heritage” is not just about Italy — the program spans the world and spotlights national treasures that “belong to our common humanity.”

He said the embassy hopes to support roughly 30 events this year, with the latter half of the year focused on “intangible” heritage such as language and traditions such as dances and cooking (something the Italians know quite a bit about).

Impalà noted that the embassy is still combing through hundreds of proposals it has received for potential partnerships. He said the goal is to bring together disparate events — some sponsored by the Smithsonian or other embassies, for instance — under one umbrella.

Recent events include a surprise concert at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial by Italy’s famous Carabinieri Band, one of the greatest military orchestras in the world, founded in 1820. The impromptu performance on April 17 for passersby on the National Mall preceded the band’s musical tribute at the Kennedy Center honoring those who have risked their lives to defend cultural heritage, such as the Monuments Men — who were tasked with saving art from Nazi destruction and theft during World War II.

Raymond Villanueva, deputy assistant director of international operations for the Department of Homeland Security, participates in a panel discussion at the Italian Embassy celebrating the five-year extension of a memorandum of understanding between Italy and the United States that aims to curb the trafficking of relics and strengthen cooperation through academic and scientific initiatives. Photo: Kelsey Brannan, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Raymond Villanueva, deputy assistant director of international operations for the Department of Homeland Security, participates in a panel discussion at the Italian Embassy celebrating the five-year extension of a memorandum of understanding between Italy and the United States that aims to curb the trafficking of relics and strengthen cooperation through academic and scientific initiatives. Photo: Kelsey Brannan, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

The Italian Embassy itself has also served as a venue to showcase efforts to preserve the world’s heritage. In a recent exhibit, Italian photographer Massimiliano Gatti explored the toll that Syria’s civil war has wrought on the ancient desert city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Center that is home to monumental ruins and once stood at the crossroads of several great civilizations.

The show coincided with the Syrian government’s advance on the city, retaking it from Islamic State militants with help from Russian airpower. While some landmarks had been destroyed by the terrorist group, others had been spared, although the Syrian government said it was still surveying the damage. Images of Palmyra’s archeological treasures, some of which may no longer exist, graced the walls of the Italian Embassy as a reminder of the vulnerability of the past to modern-day forces.

Through May 18, the embassy is presenting the exhibition “South Arabia Revisited: The Work of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Yemen.” Archaeologists have long been fascinated by the remains of architecture, sculptures and artifacts in South Arabia, a historical region that encompasses the Arabian Peninsula and is mostly centered around present-day Yemen — which, like Syria, has seen its fair share of violence and civil war. A collection of archival documents, photographs, notebooks and drawings highlight stories from the field and collaborative efforts that showcase important sites such as Bar?qish and Tamna.

In addition, a series of lectures has examined the scourge of antiquities trafficking, a prolific and highly lucrative business that is taking place on an immense scale in the war-torn Middle East.

On March 23, the embassy hosted a panel discussion marking the five-year extension of a memorandum of understanding between Italy and the United States. The agreement aims to curb the trafficking of relics from the pre-classical, classical and Imperial Roman time periods, while strengthening cooperation through academic and scientific initiatives.

“Archeological sites continue to fall prey to lootage and pillage, so we must continue our partnership,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan said of the MOU, now in its 15th year.

Raymond Villanueva, deputy assistant director of international operations for the Department of Homeland Security, said DHS collaborates with the State Department, other law enforcement agencies and foreign governments “to make bad actors’ world very small.”

The self-described “art junkie” said this collaboration “is growing by the minute.”

“If you’re coming here to steal my heritage and launder that money to fund illicit activities or to launch terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris … we’re going to use all of the tools at our disposal to put you behind bars.”

Villanueva noted that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) branch boasts over 700 agents and a network of 62 offices in 16 countries. HSI plays a critical role in criminal investigations that involve the illicit importation and distribution of cultural property, as well as the illegal trafficking of artwork. It also specializes in recovering works that have been reported lost or stolen and repatriating them to foreign governments.

In April, for instance, it seized an ancient Attic Red-Figure Nolan Amphora vase dating to 460 B.C. from a New York City art gallery after a tip from the Italian government, which said the piece matched photographs found in the files of convicted antiquities dealer Gianfranco Becchina.

Villanueva said that since 2007, HSI has returned over 8,000 pieces of art and antiquities to over 30 countries. The recovered loot includes paintings from France and Poland; 15th- to 18th-century manuscripts from Italy and Peru; dinosaur skeletons and eggs from Mongolia; and cultural artifacts from China, Cambodia and Iraq.

Italian Ambassador Armando Varricchio, left, sits with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan as they listen to a panel discussion on how the U.S. and Italy are fighting antiquities trafficking as part of the program “Protecting our Heritage.” Photo: Kelsey Brannan, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Italian Ambassador Armando Varricchio, left, sits with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan as they listen to a panel discussion on how the U.S. and Italy are fighting antiquities trafficking as part of the program “Protecting our Heritage.” Photo: Kelsey Brannan, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

In a sign of how far-reaching this cross-national cooperation has become, Villanueva pointed out that his agency is currently working on a case to return documents to Cuba following Washington’s diplomatic rapprochement with Havana.

A taskforce of NGOs recently recommended providing additional resources to buttress HSI’s “seize and repatriate” strategy with investigations and prosecutions that dismantle criminal networks engaged in the antiquities black market.

In mid-April, the Antiquities Coalition, Asia Society and Middle East Institute released “#CultureUnderThreat: Recommendations for the U.S. Government,” outlining a series of steps to confront growing threats to our cultural heritage and global security.

“Cultural racketeering — the global trade in looted antiquities — is a multibillion-dollar industry that funds organized crime and terrorists like Daesh [also known as the Islamic State]. Cultural cleansing — the systematic destruction of a targeted group and its heritage — has been used by Daesh, al Nusra, and other terrorist organizations to terrorize populations under their control,” the report said.

This front and side view of an antiquity was found in the electronic media of Abu Sayyaf, a top Islamic State militant who was was killed last year and helped the group smuggle antiquities and oil. Photo: U.S. Department of State
This front and side view of an antiquity was found in the electronic media of Abu Sayyaf, a top Islamic State militant who was was killed last year and helped the group smuggle antiquities and oil. Photo: U.S. Department of State

Among its recommendations, it called for the U.S. president to block the import of conflict antiquities through executive action and to designate a senior director at the National Security Council to drive U.S. policy in the fight against blood antiquities and terrorist financing.

It is also urged Congress to pass the Protect and Preserve Cultural Property Act that would restrict antiquities imports from Syria, and to grant the limited waiver requested by the State Department to rejoin UNESCO.

In addition, it recommended that the Defense Department consider launching airstrikes when extremist groups threaten heritage sites and train military personnel on cultural heritage to better prepare the modern “Monuments Men and Women” for future missions.

“As the United States is both a target of Daesh and a major destination for stolen antiquities, it is a national security imperative to disrupt illicit antiquities trafficking,” said Deborah Lehr, chairman of the Antiquities Coalition.

Lehr — writing alongside Wendy Chamberlin, president of the Middle East Institute, in a Huffington Post article last year — described a repatriation ceremony in which the U.S. government returned smuggled antiquities such as a 2,600-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt.

“But it was only a snapshot of a long war of cultural annihilation that the Middle East and the United States are losing to international criminal networks and extremist groups like [the Islamic State],” Lehr and Chamberlin wrote.

“From the start of the Arab Spring in 2011 through 2013, declared imports of antiquities from five Middle Eastern countries rose a staggering 86 percent, and legal imports to the United States from Iraq alone have risen over 1,000 percent. The illicit trade, while difficult to measure, is believed to be significantly higher,” they noted.

The State Department estimates that the Islamic State may have raised over $1 billion in 2014 alone, through a combination of oil sales, extortion, taxes and the plundering of natural resources. While it is not known how much of this was derived from antiquities trafficking, Andrew Keller of the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs said there is no doubt the group is earning a tidy profit from looting some of the 5,000 archeological sites under its control.

 “On May 16 [2015], U.S. Special Forces raided the Syrian compound of Abu Sayyaf, the head of ISIL’s oil and gas, and antiquities division,” Keller said during a September speech at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, referring to another acronym for the Islamic State. “Documents obtained in this raid demonstrate that ISIL is well-organized to traffic in looted antiquities, that it devotes considerable administrative and logistical resources to this activity and, most importantly, that it profits from this activity.”

 On that front, the Islamic State is continuing a long tradition of using heritage as a weapon of war.

“This war is about more than relics,” the authors argued. “The connection between the erasure of heritage and human atrocities is long-standing, as oppressors obliterate the past by erasing symbols of conquered cultures. From Caesar’s arson of the Library of Alexandria to the Nazis’ destruction of synagogues to the Taliban’s demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas, eliminating cultural identity is a strike against the spirit of a people.”

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BU Archaeology alumna Tess Davis spearheads Task Force report on steps to reduce looting and cultural destruction in the Middle East and North Africa

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BU Archaeology alumna Tess Davis spearheads Task Force report on steps to reduce looting and cultural destruction in the Middle East and North Africa

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Tess Davis (CAS ’04), executive director of the Antiquities Coalition, served as project director for the #CultureUnderThreat Task Force, which was convened under the auspices of the Antiquities Coalition, the Asia Society, and the Middle East Institute. The Task Force, comprising experts in heritage, international law, law enforcement, and national security, developed a set of recommendations for the U.S. government, the international community, and the art market designed to address the ongoing tragedy of cultural crimes––looting, selling, and deliberate destruction of cultural heritage in Syria, Iraq, and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa by ISIS and other actors.

Two other Boston University archaeologists participated in the Task Force: Allison Cuneo, doctoral candidate in the Archaeology Department and Project Manager of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Cultural Heritage Initiatives project, and Ricardo Elia, Associate Professor in the Department of Archaeology.

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Restoring Our Cultural Heritage in Syria

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APRIL 19, 2016

Restoring Our Cultural Heritage in Syria

by FRANKLIN LAMB

Beirut

“It was a place to connect to your history, to your identity and to tell others, who were not from Aleppo or Syria: “This is where we are from. This is who we are.” This is where you come to encounter your roots. It was a place that existed forever, a place we thought would exist long after we were gone. But we were wrong.” (Amal Hanano, Lessons from the Minaret, 2013)

For the past two months, since the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee amended legislative proposal H.R. 1493, known as the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act , the key bill has picked up stream on Capitol Hill with bi-partisan support.  This week (4/13/2016), the full senate passed the measure by unanimous consent.  This important legislation, which is expected to become law in the coming weeks, given its strong support also  on the House side of Congress, calls for emergency import restrictions on at-risk Syrian cultural property within 90 days of President Obama’s signature.  Rather than establishing a rather controversial cultural heritage czar called for in an earlier version, H.R. 1493 now calls for an inter-agency executive committee to protect international cultural property by acting on US pledges at the United Nations Security Council more than a year ago to try to choke off the trade of so-called blood antiquities that the Islamic State, the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda and other groups use to help finance their military operations in Syria.

This observer has been advised by two Congressional sources that concerns for the restoration of our shared global cultural heritage in Syria, widespread relief that Palmyra has been liberated from ISIS iconoclasm, and American public support for the repair and restoration of Palmyra’s treasures, are major reasons for moving the tough new and most welcomed ban on Syrian cultural property forward. The White House spokesman, Peter Boogaard, issued a statement welcoming the Congressional action and pledging that the Obama administration is committed to “enhance our ability to identify and prosecute those who unlawfully acquire or sell precious historical artifacts.”

Still there are concerns about the widely perceived slow pace of Obama administration action in fulfilling US obligations under last year’s (2/2015) UN Security Council Resolution. According to last week’s report by the Antiquities Coalition, “The lack of required action has kept the United States market open to the import of Syrian antiquities, making it a potential source of funding for extremist organizations.”’

The United States, as the task force’s report noted, accounts for 43 percent of the global art market, making it a potential leader in demand for illicit Syrian imports. While American law prohibits the import of stolen or looted objects, it does not specifically ban the trade in ancient art or artifacts, including from Syria, that were obtained before 1970, when an international convention against the trade of culturally significant objects took effect.

The Umayyad mosque in Aleppo, Syria was built between the 8th and 13th centuries and is reputedly home to the remains of John the Baptist’s father. It is located in the walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Heavy fighting during the Syrian civil war has ruined the holy site and toppled its minaret on April 13, 2013. Photo: Franklin Lamb
The Umayyad mosque in Aleppo, Syria was built between the 8th and 13th centuries and is reputedly home to the remains of John the Baptist’s father. It is located in the walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Heavy fighting during the Syrian civil war has ruined the holy site and toppled its minaret on April 13, 2013. Photo: Franklin Lamb

These concerns are global and being widely debated this spring, especially by archeological organizations. Among a growing number of diverse organizations that continue to monitor damage to Syrian cultural heritage and who are joining the debate and often voicing disparate and occasionally emotionally antithetical views with respect to our shared global cultural heritage in Syria are the following:

Aga Khan Trust for Culture the  Co-coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA), The Antiquities Coalition,  ASOR,  Avaaz, Heritage and development, International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), International Council on Archives (ICA), International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), International Council of Museums (ICOM), , Libraries without Borders/Bibliothèques sans Frontières, Peace Palace Library. Research Guide Cultural Heritage, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works,  Blue Shield International, Canadian Conservation Institute, Conservation Center for Art & historic artefacts, Conservation OnLine (CoOL), History of Historic Royal Palaces, Hornemann Insitut, IFLA’s work on preserving cultural heritage, Image Permanence Institute, International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (ICC), International Red Cross and Red Crescent, Le laboratoire de conservation, restauration et recherches de Draguignan, Portal Euromed Heritage Digital Resources, ,Preserving History. How to Digitally Archive and Share Historical Photographs, Documents, and Audio Recordings, The Shirin NGO (www.shirin-international.org), The Getty Conservation Institute, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

There are many contributing to this rapidly expanding dialogue and sometimes boisterous and even accusatory debate.

Avaaz, is circulating a Petition against UNESCO and Russian plans to reconstruct Palmyra. It states in part: “We, the undersigned, urge the international community and its cultural organizations and academic institutions to help protecting the Syrian heritage and sparing it the political, ethnic, sectarian, or business agendas of the fighting groups in the Syrian conflict and their global backers. …We regret that UNESCO Director General “reiterated her full support for the restoration of Palmyra” without first considering the ramifications of such a hasty statement…The intention of UNESCO and other organizations to engage in a restoration and reconstruction process of the ancient site of Palmyra right now is both inopportune and unrealistic. Millions of Syrians are still suffering the enormous consequences of this bloody war. Among them are the people of Palmyra who have experienced and continue to experience loss of life, detention, displacement, and the devastating destruction of their homes and heritage.” But we firmly oppose any hasty reconstruction initiated by UNESCO and carried out by parties directly involved in the Syrian tragedy.”

Restoring Palmyra: Yes!  Hastily: No!!!

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) has made public its views “Against Rushing to Conclusions about Palmyra Damage.” ICOM warns against rushing to draw conclusions about the damage inflicted by ISIS terrorists on the world heritage site of Palmyra, ICOM’s director of Programs and Partnerships advised this week. “Assessment is what we need so far, because no official international mission has been there in a couple of years, we have not assessed the situation of heritage,” France Desmarais said advising that “There are three words that we need to remember when we talk about this – professionalism, independence and integrity, and we want to make sure that whatever assessment is conducted it should be of course done with national and international experts of diverse institutions and expertise and it needs to be done thoroughly. Any quick assessment that would be done for communication purposes would not be welcome.”

Other experts and academics are also skeptical, believing that the task will take many years and resources, that some sites are beyond repair, and that others might never be restored to their former glory. They argue as Syrian archeologist and refugee Mr. Azm has that “It’s still early days,” “This is all going to take a long time.”

The Shirin NGO (www.shirin-international.org) will soon release a blunt motion challenging a project of reconstruction of Palmyra, a result of recent talks between UNESCO Director General and the President of Russia.  According to the Shirin-International Board of Directors, their motion, “written by professional archaeologists and Directors of excavations in Syria until 2010/11 will be sent to a large number of institutions and organizations, including to UNESCO and its satellite agencies, universities, press agencies, chancelleries.”

Recommendations included in the Antiquities Coalition Report noted above, calls on the US Pentagon to use airstrikes to protect sites, halt advances by the Islamic State to new territories or by striking heavy machinery used in the looting of places like Palmyra, which Syrian government forces reclaimed from the Islamic State last month. That recommendation prompted a dissenting opinion from one of the task force’s members, Emma Cunliffe, a researcher at Oxford University. Dr. Cunliffe believes that the use of military force is neither strategically nor ethically a legitimate response. “Military action may necessitate both a risk to the lives of the military force and the loss of the lives of those under attack, for what – to some – is no more than stone and so not worth any human life,” she wrote in a statement included in the report.

Avaaz, noted above, is circulating another Petition against UNESCO and Russian plans to reconstruct Palmyra. It states in part: “We, the undersigned, urge the international community and its cultural organizations and academic institutions to help protecting the Syrian heritage and sparing it the political, ethnic, sectarian, or business agendas of the fighting groups in the Syrian conflict and their global backers. We regret that UNESCO Director General “reiterated her full support for the restoration of Palmyra” without first considering the ramifications of such a hasty statement. The intention of UNESCO and other organizations to engage in a restoration and reconstruction process of the ancient site of Palmyra right now is both inopportune and unrealistic. Millions of Syrians are still suffering the enormous consequences of this bloody war. Among them are the people of Palmyra who have experienced and continue to experience loss of life, detention, displacement, and the devastating destruction of their homes and heritage. And we firmly oppose any hasty reconstruction initiated by UNESCO and carried out by parties directly involved in the Syrian tragedy.”

Some inside and outside of Syria question whether limited government resources should be used  restoring ruins while  half of Syria’s population remains displaced, including thousands from Palmyra, and others are killed in daily fighting and airstrikes that are hallmarks of its five-year-old conflict. They suggest that there is an international responsibility to preserve and protect our shared cultural heritage.

Karen Leigh, deputy Middle East bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal explained to this observer recently that some are advocating that while Palmyra was built with stone and mortar, it must be rebuilt with computers and drones and with the new technology. She wrote: “Some are urging UNESCO to use drones to get a bird’s-eye view of areas needing repair, not just at Syria’s six UN World Heritage Sites but at countless other sites around Syria. Three-dimensional reconstructions will aid precise repairs. Radar scanning will be used to view and assess any damage to underground structures such as the city’s Roman-era catacombs.

Francesco Bandarin, assistant director-general for culture at UNESCO. Opined, “A machine in one or two hours gives you a perfect reconstruction of an object, whereas before it would take weeks and weeks. But don’t expect Palmyra will be rebuilt in a day. This will be years and years of painful work,” he added noting that the continuing reconstruction at Cambodia’s Angkor, similar to some of Palmyra’s sites in scope, has taken decades after war and nature took their toll.

Stefan Simon, director of the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage at Yale University, expresses the hope “that colleagues can travel to Syria with sophisticated equipment and scanners can go to Palmyra.”

Nasser Rabbat, director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology argues that strict views on conservation could impair Palmyra’s reconstruction efforts: Technological improvements aren’t a substitute for knowledge held by the generations of Syrian historians who lovingly restored the city’s columns and stones. It is not that we have lost things that have stood as they were for 2,000 years. What we have lost is the effort, the intellectual and labor effort, of generations of restorers who worked on this city.”

Shall we 3D print a new Palmyra?

The Institute for Digital Archaeology hopes 3-D models of Palmyra’s sites will result in their detailed reconstructions which helps produce a replica of Palmyra’s Arch of Triumph and other structures.  Others criticize this approach and worry about creating ‘kitch antiquates.’ Many archeologists argue that 3D printing fails to capture the authenticity of the original structures, amounting to little more than the Disneyfication  or McDonaldization of heritage. They also point out that the fighting is still ongoing: some estimates suggest that half a million Syrians are dead, millions are displaced, and perhaps 50%-70% of the nearby town has been destroyed. Given the pressing humanitarian needs, stabilization alone should be the priority for now.

The international community is also playing a role. Groups like UNOSAT, the UN’s satellite imagery analysts have used satellite imagery to monitor the damage. On the ground, Syrian-founded NGOs like APSA have linked with universities to assess the site. Groups such as NewPalmyra and Palmyra 3D Model are using the latest technology to create open-access 3D computer models from photographs.

Still others claim that rebuilding archeological sites fail to redress the loss caused by the extensive looting of the site, focusing only on the dramatically destroyed monuments. Raising questions, for example whether returning Palmyra to its pre-conflict state denies a major chapter of its history and suggesting that what is required is wide-ranging discussion on the priorities for the immediate future and the nature of any future reconstruction.

Some aver that at each repaired archeological site that there must be a memorial as a testimony to those beheaded in the arena, or tied to columns that were detonated etc because their  stories are also part of  Syria’s, history. Others insist that while Palmyra may hold great interest to the world, the final decision should belong to those who have lived in and around it, took care of it for centuries managed it, fought for it, and protected it for generations: the Syrian people.

Syria’s Director of Antiquities, Dr. Maamoun Abdul-Karim has recently urged that Palmyra must not just “rise again”, It must not be turned into a fake replica of its former glory. Instead, what remains of this ancient city after its destruction by Isis – and that is mercifully more than many people feared –perhaps 80%, should be tactfully, sensitively and honestly preserved. DGAM Director Abdelkarim promised that 100 years of experience in conservation, including on the grand avenues and public buildings of Palmyra, would be put to immediate use but also called for international support. “We have to send a message against terrorism that we are united in protecting our heritage,” he said. “We will never accept that the children of Syrian and the world visit the site of Baalshamin and Bel and the victory arch while they are lying in ruins on the ground. We will rebuild them.”

The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums at the Syrian Ministry of Culture is currently assessing the damage inflicted on the ancient city along with its museum in order to be able to set plans and visions for emergency and urgent intervention through adopting a clear and scientific method (the castle of Palmyra, the gate of the Temple of Bel, the structure of the museum, the damaged statues). In addition, the DGAM is preparing the architectural and constructional plans for our future restoration works within definite deadlines; this is because a large part of the architectural elements of the damaged monuments can be reused in restoration so as to retain the city’s originality and identity.

Wrote Dr. Abdul-Karim to this observer on 4/13/2016, “Some speculations and statements, made by some who do not belong to our institution, speak of our intention to rebuild the city utilizing 3D technologies as well as constructing modern buildings. These, unquestionably, are in complete contrast to our vision at the DGAM, which has been well-reputed for its scientific professionalism for almost 100 years since it was established. It has helped rescue the majority of artifacts under such exceptional circumstances in the past five years of war. It also carried out emergency restoration works in a number of Syrian ancient cities between 2014 and 2015, including the Ancient City of Homs, Maaloula, the Ancient City of Damascus, Krak des Chevaliers (after its liberation) and a number of other castles on the Syrian coast. Hence, we would like to emphasize that our plans and visions will be devised and designed in cooperation with our national and international partners taking into account international standards and conventions applicable worldwide.”

It has been reported that even after becoming refugees and leaving their beloved country, Syrians have worked to keep a detailed memory of the archeological sites alive. Syrian artists have created artworks depicting destruction in Palmyra and elsewhere. In a Jordanian camp, refugees made miniature models of the city and other cultural sites, even measuring out the number and position of Palmyra’s columns from available photos.

The intensifying international debate over how best to restore and protect our shared global cultural heritage in Syria is positive, relevant, essential and constructive.

And it is quite likely that this discourse will bring new safeguards for saving our past for our future.

PDF of article here

PROTECT AND PRESERVE INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY ACT TO BE SIGNED INTO US LAW

PROTECT AND PRESERVE INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY ACT TO BE SIGNED INTO US LAW

April 19, 2016

Last week the US Senate voted unanimously to ban the import of nearly all ancient art and artefacts from Syria. The Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act has now passed onto President Obama to be signed into law. 

The law restricts the import of “any archaeological or ethnological material of Syria” and grants the President and Congress other powers to review imports.  It will fulfill the US commitment to the UN security council more than a year ago to help stem the sales of antiquities that are believed to be helping finance the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and other military groups in Syria and Iraq. At present American law does not specifically ban the trade in ancient art or artefacts.

The passage of the bill coincided with the publication of a report, #CultureUnderThreat,that intends “to explore solutions to this growing crisis and serve as an ongoing resource to policy makers.” The report, written by a Task Force led by the Antiquities Coalition, the Asia Society and the Middle East Institute, criticizes the “lack of action [that] has kept the US market open to the import of Syrian antiquities—making it a potential source of funding for extremist organisations”.

According to the New York Times, a spokesman from the White House, Peter Boogaard, issued a statement welcoming the Congressional action and pledging to “enhance our ability to identify and prosecute those who unlawfully acquire or sell precious historical artifacts.”

PDF of article here

The Antiquities Coalition Applauds Senate’s Passage of the Protect and Preserve Cultural International Cultural Property Act (H.R. 1493/S. 1887)

The Antiquities Coalition Applauds Senate’s Passage of the Protect and Preserve Cultural International Cultural Property Act (H.R. 1493/S. 1887)

Bill’s passage Advances U.S. Leadership in the Fight Against Cultural Crimes

WASHINGTON, DC (April 14, 2016):  The Antiquities Coalition applauds the Senate’s passage of the Protect and Preserve Cultural International Cultural Property Act (H.R. 1493/S. 1887). The Bill imposes increased restrictions on the trafficking of looted Syrian artifacts and advances efforts to protect cultural property around the world. It was passed in the Senate by unanimous consent, demonstrating that bipartisan consensus exists for America to play a leading role in the global fight against looting and other cultural crimes. This support is rooted in the understanding that the trafficking of blood antiquities is strongly linked to terrorism and other transnational crimes including arms and drug trafficking.

 “As the United States is both a target of terrorism and a major destination for stolen antiquities, it is a national security imperative to disrupt illicit antiquities trafficking,” said Deborah Lehr, Chairman of the Antiquities Coalition. “We look forward to the final passage of this bill by the Congress as an integral part of enhanced and coordinated strategy by the U.S. government to crack down on blood antiquities and cultural crimes.”

 The Antiquities Coalition is a nonprofit organization leading the global fight against cultural racketeering and cultural cleansing worldwide. The Bill’s passage came on the same day that the Antiquities Coalition, together with the Asia Society and the Middle East Institute released #CultureUnderThreat: Recommendations for the U.S. Government. The Report calls on Congress to expeditiously pass H.R. 1493/S. 1887, along with 30 other proposed steps for the Administration, Congress, United Nations, and art market. It was compiled by a Task Force comprised of experts in the heritage, law enforcement, national security, business, and technology communities. The report is the first ever comprehensive action plan issued to confront the growing threats that cultural racketeering and cultural cleansing represent to heritage and to national security.

 The Antiquities Coalition congratulates S. 1887’s sponsor, Senator Casey, as well as its cosponsors Senators Grassley, Perdue, Coons, and Peters, on this important step.

 

World Heritage Day Symposium Twitter Recap

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World Heritage Day Symposium Twitter Recap

World Heritage Day—Protecting, Preserving, and Presenting the Cultural Heritage of the Near East to the Public

ASOR and AIA (The Archaeological Institute of America), in cooperation with theSmithsonian Institution and The George Washington University Capitol Archaeological Institute, commemorated International Day for Monuments and Sites (also called World Heritage Day) at the Ring Auditorium at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution on Monday, April 18, 8:30AM-12:30PM.

The symposium reported on efforts to document, protect, and preserve cultural heritage sites in the Near East, and built upon conversations started at a NEH-funded summit held by AIA and ASOR in Washington in December 2015. Topics included assessing the damage suffered by Near Eastern cultural heritage sites imperiled by conflict and by looting; technological strategies for documenting and preserving the cultural heritage record; and conservation projects, especially those that engage local communities and stakeholders.

Speakers and topics included:

For full blogpost by ASOR click here

 

Palmyra’s Ancient Arch, Destroyed By ISIS, To Rise Again In London

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Palmyra’s Ancient Arch, Destroyed By ISIS, To Rise Again In London

April 18, 20164:10 PM ET

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A replica of Palmyra's 2,000-year-old Arch of Triumph is constructed in London's Trafalgar Square on Monday. The arch, a replica of a monument demolished by ISIS, was made using 3-D imaging produced from photographs. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
A replica of Palmyra’s 2,000-year-old Arch of Triumph is constructed in London’s Trafalgar Square on Monday. The arch, a replica of a monument demolished by ISIS, was made using 3-D imaging produced from photographs.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Armed with a 3-D printer and a computer-guided stonecutter, cultural heritage advocates are taking on the jackhammers of the Islamic State and its destructive ideology.

When Islamic State militants seized the Syrian desert town of Palmyra last May, an orgy of demolition began. Using dynamite, fire, bulldozers and pickaxes, the wrecking crew targeted 2,000-year-old Greco-Roman temples, monuments and stone statues. Palmyra’s 20-foot-tall Arch of Triumph, a symbolically important monument, lay in ruins.

For ISIS, it was a frenzied attempt to erase the past — and profit from the illicit sale of the leftovers.

Now, the destroyed Arch of Triumph will rise again, thanks to advances in photogrammetry, which turns photographs into 3-D models. A 12-ton replica of the arch, made of stone, will be installed in London’s Trafalgar Square on Tuesday, with plans to bring it to New York later this year.

The reproduction is “completely indistinguishable from the original,” says Roger Michel, an American lawyer and archaeologist and the founder of Britain’s Institute for Digital Archaeology, a joint venture of Harvard and Oxford universities and Dubai’s Museum of the Future.

Really? Just as good? Though it may look indistinguishable, its value may lie primarily in raising awareness of Syria’s rich heritage, culture advocates say.

The dust had hardly settled in recaptured Palmyra, liberated from ISIS last month, when new debates began: How much should the ruins be restored, and by whom? Archaeologists raged against Michel’s plan to install his 20-foot-scale model of the Arch of Triumph in the wreckage of Palmyra within six months, arguing that a re-created arch would alter the historical meaning of the ancient site.

But there is no debate about Palmyra’s importance in the public imagination.

The remains of the Arch of Triumph, shown here in a March 31 photo, stand in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a World Heritage Site. The arch and other monuments were destroyed by ISIS last year. Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images
The remains of the Arch of Triumph, shown here in a March 31 photo, stand in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a World Heritage Site. The arch and other monuments were destroyed by ISIS last year.
Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images

“This is the silver lining,” says Barry Threw, director of the New Palmyra Project. “It takes someone to go in and blow it up for people to care. Anything that keeps attention on this space, I’m fine with. At least it’s keeping this alive in a different way.”

Threw works with activists and archaeologists to preserve Palmyra’s culture digitally. In collaboration with MIT, the New Palmyra group has launched an online collection of images of 3-D models of the city, building on the work of Bassel Khartabil, a Syrian software developer and advocate for open-source technology.

Khartabil created some of the first 3-D renderings of ancient Palmyra. He was arrested by the Syrian regime in 2011 and disappeared in Syria’s vast prison system.

A combination of images shows a general view (top) taken on June 19, 2010, of Palmyra's Arch of Triumph — before it was destroyed by Islamic State jihadists in October 2015 — and the remains of the structure after government troops recaptured the ancient city from IS fighters on March 27. Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images
A combination of images shows a general view (top) taken on June 19, 2010, of Palmyra’s Arch of Triumph — before it was destroyed by Islamic State jihadists in October 2015 — and the remains of the structure after government troops recaptured the ancient city from IS fighters on March 27.
Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images

The New Palmyra effort is just one in a series of recent projects to reconstruct and restore the destruction wrought by ISIS — at least digitally. The director of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, declared that Moscow will lead any project to restore and reconstruct Palmyra’s temples. The Hermitage has a long link to Palmyra through a large collection of artifacts from the city

A 3-D reconstruction produced by the privately funded Cultural Capital Group of Nimrod, an ancient Iraqi city mentioned in the Bible, will soon be available on the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset.

And The Economist magazine is using virtual reality to bring back the treasures of Iraq’s Mosul Museum, targeted by ISIS.

“This is the irony of destruction,” says John Jay College assistant professor Erin Thompson, a specialist in art crime. She has worked for decades to raise the alarm over looting and destruction of cultural heritage around the world. “Nobody cared, but as soon as you link it to terrorism, then I’m on CNN,” she says.

“I feel grateful to ISIS,” she says, smiling ever so slightly as she offers her view on the paradox when we meet in New York. ISIS has touched a nerve, she explains, which has attracted more students and more private funding for cultural preservation.

Looting is no longer considered a victimless crime. Now, Thompson says, “Looted antiquities are translating directly into human atrocities” in areas under ISIS control.

Men recover burned ancient manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research in Timbuktu, Mali, on Jan. 29, 2013. Islamists torched the building, which housed thousands of the manuscripts, and destroyed mausoleums and monuments in the city. Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images
Men recover burned ancient manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research in Timbuktu, Mali, on Jan. 29, 2013. Islamists torched the building, which housed thousands of the manuscripts, and destroyed mausoleums and monuments in the city.
Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

The past year has seen some modest progress against looting and destruction in the legal realm. The International Criminal Court is currently prosecuting the first case in which the destruction of cultural property is deemed a war crime. Ahmad Al-Mahdi Al Faqi, a suspected Islamist militant, is accused of destroying nine mausoleums and a mosque in Mali’s ancient city of Timbuktu in 2012.

On April 13, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that had cleared the House last year banning the imports of virtually all ancient art and artifacts from Syria. And the FBI warned last summer that looted artifacts were showing up in the U.S. market and buyers could be prosecuted for providing financial support to terrorists.

But is this all too little, too late?

“Nothing changed yet,” says Deborah Lehr, who heads the Antiquities Coalition, a private advocacy organization in Washington. “There is more political will and attention, but the legal infrastructure is inadequate to the modern challenge.”

It took more than a year to convince U.S. officials that ISIS had transformed “what started as a localized effort into a full-scale transnational business” and advertised its attacks on supply to drive up demand, says Shawnee State University professor Amr Azm, a former museum official in Syria and a trained archaeologist. “ISIS tapped into a well-established market that predates them. They institutionalized it,” Azm says.

A giant Buddha statue stood for 1,500 years in this cliffside niche in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The Taliban blew the statue up, along with a companion Buddha figure, in 2001. There is debate over how and whether to restore the Buddhas. Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images
A giant Buddha statue stood for 1,500 years in this cliffside niche in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The Taliban blew the statue up, along with a companion Buddha figure, in 2001. There is debate over how and whether to restore the Buddhas.
Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

“We had to convince the FBI; it wasn’t easy,” says Azm. He is a key figure in demonstrating the link between looting and terrorism and has documented the ISIS business model through his contacts with Syrian activists and archaeologists on the ground.

Cultural vandalism is not new to the Middle East; nor is militants’ targeting of ancient sites there and elsewhere in the world. The Taliban blasted Afghanistan’s colossal Bamiyan Buddha figures to rubble in 2001. And militants destroyed mosques, mausoleums and ancient manuscripts in Timbuktu in 2012.

But ISIS has raised the stakes, says Lehr. Unlike other militant groups, the Islamic State has created a “Ministry of Antiquities” in areas under its control. “We’ve never seen it on this scale,” Lehr says. For the U.S. and for governments in the region, “It’s a national security issue.”

ISIS has created a dangerous model for other militant groups — demonstrating the power of destroying culture to intimidate local populations, while reaping millions in profits from the looting.

Lehr’s Antiquities Coalition, the Asia Society and Middle East Institute recently released a task force report advocating a more robust U.S. government response.

In the meantime, with no quick fixes, some institutions, such as Princeton University, are opting for a more defensive strategy and investing in the study of collections already in hand.

In the 1930s, Princeton archaeologists participated in an expedition to the ancient Greek and Roman city of Antioch, in what is now southern Turkey. The dig produced prized mosaics, still on display across campus. But the minor objects from the expedition — pottery shards, lamps, coins and other artifacts — were stored unexamined until a few years ago.

ISIS’s actions have played a role in the university’s decision to open new research and digitize the findings, says Michael Koortbojian, a Princeton art and archaeology professor. “There’s no doubt that everyone feels spurred by the wanton destruction over the past few years,” he says. “We should make the good effort to provide an account of what does survive.”

A picture from March 31 shows the remains of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Jihadists of the Islamic State destroyed much of the site last year. Syrian troops backed by Russian forces recaptured Palmyra from ISIS on March 27. Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images
A picture from March 31 shows the remains of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Jihadists of the Islamic State destroyed much of the site last year. Syrian troops backed by Russian forces recaptured Palmyra from ISIS on March 27.
Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images

But it doesn’t mitigate the loss. And that brings us to the unveiling of the 3-D replica arch on Trafalgar Square on Tuesday. Expect to hear that technology is defeating ISIS.

“My intention,” said Michel ahead of the arch’s unveiling, “is to show Islamic State that anything they can blow up, we can rebuild exactly as it was before, and rebuild it again and again. We will use technology to disempower ISIS.”

But most specialists say it doesn’t add up. The replicas of the Palmyra arch, the virtual reality renderings of the lost treasures of Iraq, document memory and loss, but don’t bring anything back. “It is tragic,” says Koortbojian, “that these things are becoming known as they are becoming extinct.”

PDF of article here

The Antiquities Coalition: Combatting #CultureUnderThreat By Deborah Lehr. News in Conservation, Issue 53, April 2016

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The Antiquities Coalition: Combatting #CultureUnderThreat By Deborah Lehr. News in Conservation, Issue 53, April 2016

Submitted by Barbara Borghese on 17 Apr 2016

before-after

Since the breakdown in civil society that resulted from the Arab Spring, and with the rise of violent extremism, the world is facing the most significant and systematic destruction and looting of heritage in the modern era. The illicit trade in cultural goods is a multifaceted issue, cutting across national security, finances and economics, international law and heritage and conservation.

To combat this state of affairs, the world needs innovative solutions that bridge the gaps between these perspectives. We at the Antiquities Coalition aim to act as a binding force between diverse communities involved in the fight against crimes of culture, bringing together leaders and their expertise to drive informed, actionable, and collaborative solutions.

Since our founding in 2013, we have worked with public and private sector groups across the globe to empower communities and countries in crisis, expand the international community’s understanding of patterns of cultural looting, and develop solutions to protect culture under threat. We believe that the fight against cultural crimes must be fought on several fronts. Our team deploys five primary tools: convening, collaboration, on-the-ground capacity building, technology-based information campaigns, and solutions-oriented research.

Convening and collaboration: fostering cross-border dialogue in the Middle East

The fight against looting and cultural crimes impacts stakeholders from the public and private sectors in countries across the world. Yet, the expertise and contributions of these actors too often remains isolated.

Our organisation unites a wide range of experts including archaeologists, business leaders, criminologists, lawyers, and specialists in money laundering, security, and terrorist financing and then connects them with key decision makers in the public and private sectors. We give these diverse groups a chance to learn from one another and help develop innovative solutions for safeguarding cultural heritage.

Collaboration between regional governments has been critical in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in order to create the necessary political will in this fight. We have convened government officials beyond just the antiquities or culture ministries to foster diplomatic cooperation and international dialogue to help individuals, organisations, and nations collaborate, strategise, and reach consensus during times of crisis. The first convening of these regional governments took place May 13-14, 2015 at the #CultureUnderThreat Cairo Conference, which was co-sponsored by the Antiquities Coalition, the Middle East Institute, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Ministers from ten MENA nations gathered in Cairo over two days and announced an action plan in the fight against culture under threat.

That action plan, the Cairo Declaration, was the first communiqué of its kind in historic preservation. It commits the ten signatory countries to specific actions that will help protect and preserve their heritage, as well as raise awareness globally about the plight of conflict antiquities. The Cairo Declaration also called for the formation of a task force of regional leaders to address heritage threats. The MENA task force will convene for its firm meeting in the summer of 2016 for working group sessions on active solutions at the second annual regional #CultureUnderThreat Conference. The 2016 conference will be expanded to include all members of the Arab League, and will again convene at the Ministerial level to ensure that the political will remains strong in this fight.

On September 24, 2015, the Antiquities Coalition organized a U.S.-based #CultureUnderThreat Forum in New York that brought together Foreign Ministers, former heads of state, Ambassadors, and senior government officials from around the world with leaders of arts institutions, archaeological associations, and experts in terrorism to address the looting and trafficking of antiquities, and halt a major source of funding for terrorism. Convened by the Asia Society, the Antiquities Coalition, UNESCO, and the Middle East Institute, the forum produced a “Call to Action” for the international community to join forces in a strategic effort to halt the trade in conflict antiquities and, in doing so, cut off potential sources of terrorist revenue. One of the outcomes of the New York Forum was the formation of the #CultureUnderThreat Task Force.

Capacity building: combatting cultural crimes on the ground

To stop the looting and destruction of cultural heritage at the source, communities and countries need a strong base of knowledge and tools to safeguard their cultural heritage and enforce rule of law. Given thin financial resources and ongoing threats to security, many governments in countries in conflict do not have sufficient capacity to protect their heritage. There are many excellent organisations and experts doing good work in this field, such as Amr Al Azm and Michael Danti with American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Cultural Heritage Initiatives, and Katharyn Hanson with the University of Pennsylvania Cultural Heritage Center.

We try to address this gap by facilitating collaboration between experts, non-governmental organisations and governments to build on-the-ground capacity to drive solutions that combat looting.

One of the most effective ways to build capacity is through public-private partnerships. In March 2014, we finalized unprecedented public-private partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities (ICPEA) to support the Egyptian government’s efforts in the fight against cultural racketeering in Egypt. This public-private partnership is the first ever undertaken by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities. It is the strongest effort yet to focus the power and ingenuity of academic, business, and cultural leaders and provides a vehicle for sharing best practices, resources, and information to fight cultural racketeering in Egypt. The partnership established a range of capacity-building measures, including the establishment of cultural property inventories, greater physical site protection, and small business initiatives for economic development.

One of the outcomes of this partnership was the announcement of the design and implementation of a museum registrar training programme so that Ministry staff can equip the next generation of Egyptians with the tools to secure their nation’s ancient cultural legacy, to be completed in partnership with American Research Centers in Egypt (ARCE) and Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities. The partnership also calls for the creation of inventories, registries, and other databases, which serve as critical tools for safeguarding cultural objects; a complete catalogue of a country’s artifacts is a prerequisite for protecting them.

Databases can help collections immediately identify what is missing and put the authorities and market on the lookout. For example, in May 2015, U.S. Special Forces in Syria found a cache of Iraqi artifacts that had been stolen from the Mosul Museum. Experts were able to trace them back to the Museum using their registration numbers and return them safely to Iraq. Databases also ensure that illegal artifacts can be identified even once stolen and sold. The U.S. government stopped the auction of a 17th century Flemish tapestry in 2014 after it was revealed to be on INTERPOL’s “Most Wanted Works of Art” list. Similarly, databases help customs officials track, identify, and repatriate stolen objects.

This initiative will be critical for combatting the illicit trade in antiquities at acquisition sites, borders, and points of sale, as well as for repatriation efforts and legal prosecutions against traffickers.

Technology-Based Information Campaigns: Building Awareness

Tools for visually understanding the often complicated issues of the illicit antiquities trade and threats to cultural heritage serve as a vital resource in disseminating information. The Antiquities Coalition reaches outside of the heritage sector to co-ordinate with counterterrorism organisations, policy groups and heritage experts to develop visuals resources on the trade as a means of raising awareness about cultural racketeering. In January 2016, the Antiquities Coalition published the #CultureUnderThreat Map to illustrate the widespread destruction of heritage in relation to known hot spots of terrorist’ holdings on a regional basis. The interactive map

currently shows nearly 700 heritage sites throughout the 22 states of the Arab League, which can be filtered by type (areas under threat or control of militant groups; cultural heritage sites that have been attacked, targeted, or destroyed; museums and locations of UNESCO World Heritage sites). It reveals at least 240 heritage sites that have been deliberately targeted or destroyed by Daesh and other terrorist groups. These sites include artifacts from the ancient, Graeco-Roman, Islamic, and modern periods alike.

Infographics have also served as an important visual resource in the effort to raise awareness on the breadth of culture under threat and the criminal groups that can be funded by cultural racketeering. In 2015 the Antiquities Coalition partnered with counter-terrorism expert Malcolm Nance and the Terror Asymmetrics Project (TAPSTRI) to illustrate the vast amount of weaponry that $1 million (£710,000) in looted antiquities could fund. With the value of antiquities from the MENA region ranging from thousands to millions of dollars, the potential funding for violent extremists or a terror group like Daesh is insurmountable.

We have also gathered a series of images to pay tribute to cultural heritage lost to conflict and crime in the Middle East and North Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. By illustrating the region’s iconic monuments and sites then and now — before, during, and after this period of turmoil, terrorism, and outright war — we hope to convey the enormity of the ongoing crisis.

Solutions-oriented research

Cultural racketeering is a multi-billion dollar industry that funds organised crime, armed conflict, and terrorism. Post-revolution looting in Egypt contributed to more than $3 billion (£2.1 billion) in losses by 2014 according to research conducted by TED-Prize winner and satellite expert Dr. Sarah Parcak. Her satellite analysis, confirmed by on-the-ground surveys at select sites, found that illicit digging at previously known archaeological sites had increased 500-1000% since the January 2011 revolution. But when compared to similar transnational crimes — from arms running, to drug smuggling, or even the illicit wildlife trade — there is much we still do not know. The Antiquities Coalition is working with leading experts, including the University of Chicago, to better quantify and qualify the illicit trade in cultural goods, in order to develop efficient, effective, and informed solutions for safeguarding our shared cultural heritage.

We released one of our most extensive efforts — a case study tracing looting in Egypt — in January 2016 conducted by Antiquities Coalition’s chief of staff Katie Paul. The data used in this study was sourced from social or traditional media reports from activists, reporters, government sources, and archaeological experts.

Breaking down the individual reports of looting and trafficking into demographic data, site classifications, and illicit activities taxonomies on a month-by-month basis from 2011 to 2015 revealed clear and recurring patterns of heritage crime in the country. Studies of cyclical threats to cultural activity are critical for countries like Egypt that face the challenge of too many cultural crimes and too few resources to track and fight them. A better understanding of the typical patterns of attacks allows governments to anticipate looting and other cultures crimes based on instances of conflict and crisis in the country, helping them to calibrate their response in the most effective and resource-efficient way possible.

We are currently working to apply and expand our research on patterns of heritage crime to other countries facing rapidly expanding cultural criminal activity and limited government resources. For example, our executive director Tess Davis is currently conducting a historical case study of illicit antiquities trafficking during the Cambodian Civil War, in the hopes of identifying patterns of heritage destruction that may have implications for other armed conflicts.

Following our ministerial summit in New York on September 24, the Antiquities Coalition and its forum partners launched the #CultureUnderThreat Task Force to develop and drive U.S.-focused solutions to cultural cleansing and racketeering during armed conflict. We are now working with a diverse group of experts — including leaders from the worlds of heritage, business, law, policy, security, and technology — on this initiative. The task force report will be published in April 2016.

The Bottom Line

Cultural crimes not only impact the heritage and conservation communities; they ravage the governments of source countries, contribute to the plight of communities in conflict areas, and threaten the very foundation of international security and peace.

Given the wide-ranging and devastating effects of campaigns of cultural racketeering and cleansing, international groups such as ours need to promote collaboration between involved parties from a range of backgrounds. There are no easy solutions to this crisis, but the stronger and more united our international response is, the more effective it will be.

PDF of article here

The Antiquities Coalition: Combatting #CultureUnderThreat

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The Antiquities Coalition: Combatting #CultureUnderThreat

By Deborah Lehr, Chair and Founder, The Antiquities Coalition

Since the breakdown in civil society that resulted from the Arab Spring, and with the rise of violent extremism, the world is facing the most significant and systematic destruction and looting of heritage in the modern era. The illicit trade in cultural goods is a multifaceted issue, cutting across national security, finances and economics, international law and heritage and conservation.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 12.47.10 PM

To combat this state of affairs, the world needs innovative solutions that bridge the gaps between these perspectives. We at the Antiquities Coalition aim to act as a binding force between diverse communities involved in the fight against crimes of culture, bringing together leaders and their expertise to drive informed, actionable, and collaborative solutions.

Since our founding in 2013, we have worked with public and private sector groups across the globe to empower communities and countries in crisis, expand the international community’s understanding of patterns of cultural looting, and develop solutions to protect culture under threat. We believe that the fight against cultural crimes must be fought on several fronts. Our team deploys five primary tools: convening, collaboration, on-the-ground capacity building, technology-based information campaigns, and solutions-oriented research.

The Antiquities Coalition, the Middle East Institute and Ministers from ten Arab League states convene in Cairo for the #CultureUnderThreat Cairo Conference May 13-14, 2015.
The Antiquities Coalition, the Middle East Institute and Ministers from ten Arab League states convene in Cairo for the #CultureUnderThreat Cairo Conference May 13-14, 2015.

Convening and collaboration: fostering cross-border dialogue in the Middle East

     The fight against looting and cultural crimes impacts stakeholders from the public and private sectors in countries across the world. Yet, the expertise and contributions of these actors too often remains isolated.

     Our organisation unites a wide range of experts including archaeologists, business leaders, criminologists, lawyers, and specialists in money laundering, security, and terrorist financing and then connects them with key decision makers in the public and private sectors. We give these diverse groups a chance to learn from one another and help develop innovative solutions for safeguarding cultural heritage.

     Collaboration between regional governments has been critical in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in order to create the necessary political will in this fight. We have convened government officials beyond just the antiquities or culture ministries to foster diplomatic cooperation and international dialogue to help individuals, organisations, and nations collaborate, strategise, and reach consensus during times of crisis. The first convening of these regional governments took place May 13-14, 2015 at the #CultureUnderThreat Cairo Conference, which was co-sponsored by the Antiquities Coalition, the Middle East Institute, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Ministers from ten MENA nations gathered in Cairo over two days and announced an action plan in the fight against culture under threat.

     That action plan, the Cairo Declaration, was the first communiqué of its kind in historic preservation. It commits the ten signatory countries to specific actions that will help protect and preserve their heritage, as well as raise awareness globally about the plight of conflict antiquities. The Cairo Declaration also called for the formation of a task force of regional leaders to address heritage threats. The MENA task force will convene for its firm meeting in the summer of 2016 for working group sessions on active solutions at the second annual regional #CultureUnderThreat Conference. The 2016 conference will be expanded to include all members of the Arab League, and will again convene at the Ministerial level to ensure that the political will remains strong in this fight.

     On September 24, 2015, the Antiquities Coalition organized a U.S.-based #CultureUnderThreat Forum in New York that brought together Foreign Ministers, former heads of state, Ambassadors, and senior government officials from around the world with leaders of arts institutions, archaeological associations, and experts in terrorism to address the looting and trafficking of antiquities, and halt a major source of funding for terrorism. Convened by the Asia Society, the Antiquities Coalition, UNESCO, and the Middle East Institute, the forum produced a “Call to Action” for the international community to join forces in a strategic effort to halt the trade in conflict antiquities and, in doing so, cut off potential sources of terrorist revenue. One of the outcomes of the New York Forum was the formation of the #CultureUnderThreat Task Force.

Capacity building: combatting cultural crimes on the ground

     To stop the looting and destruction of cultural heritage at the source, communities and countries need a strong base of knowledge and tools to safeguard their cultural heritage and enforce rule of law. Given thin financial resources and ongoing threats to security, many governments in countries in conflict do not have sufficient capacity to protect their heritage. There are many excellent organisations and experts doing good work in this field, such as Amr Al Azm and Michael Danti with American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Cultural Heritage Initiatives, and Katharyn Hanson with the University of Pennsylvania Cultural Heritage Center. The Antiquities Coalition, the Middle East Institute and Ministers from ten Arab League states convene in Cairo for the #CultureUnderThreat Cairo Conference May 13-14, 2015. 

We try to address this gap by facilitating collaboration between experts, non-governmental organisations and governments to build on-the-ground capacity to drive solutions that combat looting.

Before and after the destruction
Before and after the destruction

One of the most effective ways to build capacity is through public-private partnerships. In March 2014, we finalized unprecedented publicprivate partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities (ICPEA) to support the Egyptian government’s efforts in the fight against cultural racketeering in Egypt. This public-private partnership is the first ever undertaken by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities. It is the strongest effort yet to focus the power and ingenuity of academic, business, and cultural leaders and provides a vehicle for sharing best practices, resources, and information to fight cultural racketeering in Egypt. The partnership established a range of capacity-building measures, including the establishment of cultural property inventories, greater physical site protection, and small business initiatives for economic development.

     One of the outcomes of this partnership was the announcement of the design and implementation of a museum registrar training programme so that Ministry staff can equip the next generation of Egyptians with the tools to secure their nation’s ancient cultural legacy, to be completed in partnership with American Research Centers in Egypt (ARCE) and Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities. The partnership also calls for the creation of inventories, registries, and other databases, which serve as critical tools for safeguarding cultural objects; a complete catalogue of a country’s artifacts is a prerequisite for protecting them.

     Databases can help collections immediately identify what is missing and put the authorities and market on the lookout. For example, in May 2015, U.S. Special Forces in Syria found a cache of Iraqi artifacts that had been stolen from the Mosul Museum. Experts were able to trace them back to the Museum using their registration numbers and return them safely to Iraq. Databases also ensure that illegal artifacts can be identified even once stolen and sold. The U.S. government stopped the auction of a 17th century Flemish tapestry in 2014 after it was revealed to be on INTERPOL’s “Most Wanted Works of Art” list. Similarly, databases help customs officials track, identify, and repatriate stolen objects.

     This initiative will be critical for combatting the illicit trade in antiquities at acquisition sites, borders, and points of sale, as well as for repatriation efforts and legal prosecutions against traffickers.

Technology-Based Information Campaigns: Building Awareness

Tools for visually understanding the often complicated issues of the illicit antiquities trade and threats to cultural heritage serve as a vital resource in disseminating information. The Antiquities Coalition reaches outside of the heritage sector to co-ordinate with counterterrorism organisations, policy groups and heritage experts to develop visuals resources on the trade as a means of raising awareness about cultural racketeering.

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In January 2016, the Antiquities Coalition published the #CultureUnderThreat Map to illustrate the widespread destruction of heritage in relation to known hot spots of terrorist’ holdings on a regional basis. The interactive map currently shows nearly 700 heritage sites throughout the 22 states of the Arab League, which can be filtered by type (areas under threat or control of militant groups; cultural heritage sites that have been attacked, targeted, or destroyed; museums and locations of UNESCO World Heritage sites). It reveals at least 240 heritage sites that have been deliberately targeted or destroyed by Daesh and other terrorist groups. These sites include artifacts from the ancient, GraecoRoman, Islamic, and modern periods alike.

     Infographics have also served as an important visual resource in the effort to raise awareness on the breadth of culture under threat and the criminal groups that can be funded by cultural racketeering. In 2015 the Antiquities Coalition partnered with counter-terrorism expert Malcolm Nance and the Terror Asymmetrics Project (TAPSTRI) to illustrate the vast amount of weaponry that $1 million (£710,000) in looted antiquities could fund. With the value of antiquities from the MENA region ranging from thousands to millions of dollars, the potential funding for violent extremists or a terror group like Daesh is insurmountable.

     We have also gathered a series of images to pay tribute to cultural heritage lost to conflict and crime in the Middle East and North Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. By illustrating the region’s iconic monuments and sites then and now — before, during, and after this period of turmoil, terrorism, and outright war — we hope to convey the enormity of the ongoing crisis.

Solutions-oriented research

     Cultural racketeering is a multi-billion dollar industry that funds organized crime, armed conflict, and terrorism. Post-revolution looting in Egypt contributed to more than $3 billion (£2.1 billion) in losses by 2014 according to research conducted by TED-Prize winner and satellite expert Dr. Sarah Parcak. Her satellite analysis, confirmed by on-the-ground surveys at select sites, found that illicit digging at previously known archaeological sites had increased 500-1000% since the January 2011 revolution. But when compared to similar transnational crimes — from arms running, to drug smuggling, or even the illicit wildlife trade — there is much we still do not know. The Antiquities Coalition is working with leading experts, including the University of Chicago, to better quantify and qualify the illicit trade in cultural goods, in order to develop efficient, effective, and informed solutions for safeguarding our shared cultural heritage.

     We released one of our most extensive efforts — a case study tracing looting in Egypt — in January 2016 conducted by Antiquities Coalition’s chief of staff Katie Paul. The data used in this study was sourced from social or traditional media reports from activists, reporters, government sources, and archaeological experts.

     Breaking down the individual reports of looting and trafficking into demographic data, site classifications, and illicit activities taxonomies on a month-by-month basis from 2011 to 2015 revealed clear and recurring patterns of heritage crime in the country. Studies of cyclical threats to cultural activity are critical for countries like Egypt that face the challenge of too many cultural crimes and too few resources to track and fight them. A better understanding of the typical patterns of attacks allows governments to anticipate looting and other cultures crimes based on instances of conflict and crisis in the country, helping them to calibrate their response in the most effective and resource-efficient way possible.

     We are currently working to apply and expand our research on patterns of heritage crime to other countries facing rapidly expanding cultural criminal activity and limited government resources. For example, our executive director Tess Davis is currently conducting a historical case study of illicit antiquities trafficking during the Cambodian Civil War, in the hopes of identifying patterns of heritage destruction that may have implications for other armed conflicts.

     Following our ministerial summit in New York on September 24, the Antiquities Coalition and its forum partners launched the #CultureUnderThreat Task Force to develop and drive U.S.-focused solutions to cultural cleansing and racketeering during armed conflict. We are now working with a diverse group of experts — including leaders from the worlds of heritage, business, law, policy, security, and technology — on this initiative. The task force report will be published in April 2016.

The Bottom Line

     Cultural crimes not only impact the heritage and conservation communities; they ravage the governments of source countries, contribute to the plight of communities in conflict areas, and threaten the very foundation of international security and peace.

     Given the wide-ranging and devastating effects of campaigns of cultural racketeering and cleansing, international groups such as ours need to promote collaboration between involved parties from a range of backgrounds. There are no easy solutions to this crisis, but the stronger and more united our international response is, the more effective it will be.

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US Senate blocks the import of art and artefacts from Syria

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US Senate blocks the import of art and artefacts from Syria

Bill aimed at ending Islamic State’s rampant looting of archaeological sites is passed in unanimous vote

by DAN DURAY  |  14 April 2016

The Sella of Bel Temple after it was partially destroyed by Isil in an explosion. Photo: Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums
The Sella of Bel Temple after it was partially destroyed by Isil in an explosion. Photo: Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums

The US Senate unanimously passed a bill intended to stem the perceived flow of illicitly removed artefacts from Syria on Wednesday, 13 April. The Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act had already passed Congress’s lower chamber, the House of Representatives, and is headed to President Obama to be signed into law.

The law would effectively ban the import of “any archaeological or ethnological material of Syria”, granting the President and Congress other review powers over such imports, though it may have broader scope as well. A minor section also stipulates that “the President shall report annually to Congress on executive branch efforts to protect and preserve international cultural property”.

The decision comes, after months of debate, just as a report titled #CultureUnderThreat was published by a task force led by the Antiquities Coalition, the Asia Society and the Middle East Institute. The report urged the Obama administration to take stricter measures to stop the looting of archaeological sits by armed militants such as Islamic State. The “lack of action has kept the US market open to the import of Syrian antiquities—making it a potential source of funding for extremist organisations,” the report states. 

Syrian imports on the rise?

The value of Syrian antiques imported to the US has risen five-fold during the country’s civil war, a study of US Customs’ data reveals. Research by the cultural heritage lawyer Rick St. Hilaire says that Syrian antiques were America’s number one import from that country in 2014, with an estimated value of $11m, up from $2.2m in 2009 before the war began. 

Overall the value of Syrian imports has fallen from $285.9m in 2009 to $12.4m in 2014, due to US sanctions against the Assad regime. “How is it that a war zone is generating an industry of antiques, and works of monumental stone and mosaic cubes?” asks St. Hilaire. He attributes the increase in such imports to looting by the Islamic State, of which there is plentiful other evidence. He believes his figures may even under-represent the scope of looted cultural imports, since both the nature of the object and their estimated value are determined by the importer, and rarely verified by customs officials. But the same goes for their country of origin: the objects that are the subject of St. Hilaire’s study may have been removed from Syria centuries before the current conflict. 

What the study is based on

All imports to the US are required to bear a number on their shipping information that corresponds to its place in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The HTS codes helps determine what tariffs or duties the object might be subject to. HTS 9706, crucial in this study, pertains to antiques over 100 years old, which are subject to no duties. HTS 9706 also pertains only to objects imported for “consumption,” in this case by collectors and dealers, not museum loans. Like most customs data, the shipper declares an item’s HTS, stated country of origin and stated value. The vast majority of objects coming into the country are not inspected by customs.

Looting from heritage sites in the warzone, and fears that Islamic extremists are profiting from the illicit trade in cultural property, are problems acknowledged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among others. The FBI issued a statement last August that it had received “credible reports that US persons have been offered cultural property that appears to have been removed from Syria and Iraq recently.” The State Department has offered up to $5m, through its Rewards for Justice programme, for information that leads to the disruption of sales of looted antiquities that benefit so-called Isil. 

Why it might not be looting

Antiquities dealers have been quick to pour cold water on reports that Syria’s looted heritage has reached the US. Randall Hixenbaugh, of Hixenbaugh Ancient Art, takes issue with the basis for the study being the country of origin field on a customs form. “When I’m buying something at auction in London or Paris that comes out of an aristocratic collection it’s forcing me… not to lie but to make a huge assumption as to where something was found, whereas I have no idea where it was found,” he says. “The field assumes geographical boundaries that may not have existed at the time an object was created”, he says. “Marking something as Syrian may mean that it is Roman, Assyrian, Hittite, Egyptian, Caanite, or Greek, and there’s no way of telling when it was removed from the country.” 

Hixenbaugh says that fluxuations in import value for HTS 9706 might be attributed to just a handful of expensive items having been purchased legitimately, or otherwise brought into the country legally–not the rampant import of many smaller, less valuable items. 

St. Hilaire says that importers are supposed to list multiple possible countries of origin if they’re unsure, but concedes that the lack of standardised weight or quantity on such import forms is a major flaw in the system, and something he’s pushed to change.

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