With news agencies today reporting that ISIS is just outside of Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra, one of the world’s most important archaeological sites is at risk of destruction.
Islamic State
Posted inNews
ISIS Video Shows Devastating Destruction of Ancient Assyria’s Capital
They were removing “signs of idolatry.” That’s what an ISIS fighter said in a video published online Saturday.
Posted inArt
What ISIS Destroys, Why, and Why We Must Document It
The destruction at the Mosul Museum raises questions about why certain items were destroyed, while others were spared.
Posted inNews
ISIS Destroys Mosul Museum Collection and Ancient Assyrian Statues [UPDATED]
A video released on Thursday by ISIS shows members of the terrorist organization destroying ancient Assyrian artifacts at the Mosul Museum and the nearby Nineveh archaeological site.
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 inIn Brief
Art Auction Seeks to Help Syrian and Iraqi Refugees
An auction to benefit refugees displaced by the Islamic State in northern Syria and Iraq was launched today on the online platform Paddle 8.
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
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.