Haykal Bafana reported that “Al Qaeda militants [had] destroyed” the 800-year-old tomb of Sufi saint Sufyan bin Abdullah in Al Hota town, Lahij province, Yemen, on January 27.
Author Archives: Sam Hardy
Sam Hardy is an archaeologist who researches the illicit trade in antiquities, the destruction of cultural property, and cultural heritage labour at times of crisis and conflict. He teaches in Rome and London, and tweets @conflictantiq and @samarkeolog.
Posted inNews
Significant 13th-Century Complex Bombed in Syria
Al-Sultaniyah Madrasa, established in 1223 and containing the tomb of Sultan Saladin’s son Sultan Malik al-Zaher, appears to have been destroyed. And it seems to have been military rather than sectarian destruction.
Posted inNews
UN Maps Reveal Destruction of Thousands of Cultural Sites Across Syria
Using satellite imagery from 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014, the Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has mapped the intensity of cultural damage to cities across Syria.
Posted inNews
Militants Destroy Iraqi Convent
Extended video confirms that the Victory Convent of the Chaldean Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Mosul, Iraq, was destroyed on November 24.
Posted inOpinion
Lobbyist Misleads on Islamic State Antiquities Trafficking
When Hyperallergic debunked antiquities trade representative Ursula Kampmann’s supposed debunking of intelligence on Islamic State antiquities trafficking, Cultural Property Observer (CPO) (dealer and lobbyist) Peter Tompa tried to debunk Hyperallergic in turn.
Posted inArt
“Joyfully Defiant”: A Photographic Introduction to the Kurds
Robert Leutheuser is an independent cultural photographer who has dedicated himself to documenting community life in the Middle East, focusing on Kurdish peoples. Perhaps most notably, his work has helped the international community to understand who the Yezidis are.
Posted inNews
Tomb of Saddam Hussein’s Father Allegedly Destroyed
A “security source in Salahuddin Province” informed Iraqi newspaper Kitabat that “Daash” — the Arabic-language acronym for the Islamic State — “[had] blow[n] up the tomb of the father of Saddam in Tikrit.”
Posted inNews
German Media May Corroborate $36M Islamic State Antiquities Trafficking
There is significant evidence that illicit antiquities trading contributes to paramilitary funding. It does not happen everywhere, all the time, but it does happen.
Posted inNews
Evidence Points to Fresh Destruction of Yazidi Temples by Islamic State
New video and testimony has emerged of Yazidis who have returned to the village of Babila (also known as Babira and Babirah), which was occupied and devastated by the Islamic State. It documents the community’s resumption of its life amidst the ruins of two temples.
Posted inNews
Who Blew Up the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Deir el-Zour?
Fifty days after the destruction of the Armenian Genocide Martyrs’ Memorial Church in Deir el-Zour, Robert Fisk has reported it in the Independent, but his article is riddled with peculiarities, mistakes, and historical inconsistencies.
Posted inNews
Hunger Strike Averted as Turkey Ups Art and Heritage Jobs
“We’re at the end of our tether with the employment of one percent of archaeologists. If there is not just employment in 2014, [there will be a] hunger strike,” said archaeologist Binnur Çelebi on April 5.
Posted inNews
Assessing the Destruction of Yezidi Shrines
Between (the lack of) access, confusion, fear, and propaganda, it can be very difficult to know if something is happening, or what is happening, to historic Yezidi shrines at the hands of the Islamic State.