Recovering from ISIS: The Restoration of Artifacts Destroyed by Daesh in Iraq and Syria

By Marcel Thompson ‘22

After the Islamic State declared its caliphate in 2014, it initiated a policy of destruction of ancient archeological sites in Syria and Iraq. By smashing statues and dynamiting temples, ISIS developed another kind of terror: crushing parts of the historical and cultural heritage of Middle East. The rapid advance of the terrorist group in the region proved fatal for many artefacts. After taking control of Mosul—the second largest city in Iraq—in 2014, ISIS toppled statues in the Mosul Museum with sledgehammers and power tools. At Nimrud, they bombed the remains of the ancient Assyrian city. At Palmyra, in central Syria, they blew up the 2000-year-old Temple of Bel. And all of those acts were, of course, recorded on camera and later used as propaganda on the various ISIS media outlets. Indeed, this policy wasn’t established aimlessly. It was well organized and had a clear objective. 

ISIS destruction of archeological sites and artefacts was carefully staged and revealed many aspects of the identity and intents of the Islamist organization. First, the organization justified these actions through their theological beliefs. As ISIS calls for  the return to primal form of the religion, they oppose all forms of polytheism. Because they viewed many of the artefacts as praises to pagan Gods from the Jahiliya—the “period of ignorance” which preceded the birth of Islam— they destroyed everything that could remind the people of this era. Secondly, by targeting those artefacts, they were pursuing the iconoclasm performed by Muhammad and, before him, Abraham. According to Muslim beliefs, these two prophets preached in their respective times the destruction of pagan artefacts. Their last motive was political. By attacking these sites, ISIS was indirectly attacking the Europeans who colonized the region in the past and excavated these archeological remnants.  

In March 2017, the Syrian army retook Homs and the Palmyra archeological site, and in July of that same year, the coalition kicked the Islamic State out of Mosul. Today, ISIS is significantly weakened: as of March 2019, they have officially lost the entirety of their territory. In the last year, a process to rehabilitate damaged artefacts has been established by Syrian authorities. Homs provincial governor Talal Barazi told the Russian outlet Sputnik: “The authorities now have a project to repair all the damage cause to Palmyra’s Old City. There are also good offers from the world powers to restore the artefacts and historical value of Palmyra.” Palmyra once counted among Syria and the Middle East’s most popular attractions, with 150,000 visitors each year. According to the Syrian government, the ancient site is now set to receive tourists in the summer of 2019.

This is the result of large restoration efforts and support from around the world. For example, a team from the University of Pennsylvania is currently leading a project in Mosul called the “Mosul Heritage Stabilization Program” to preserve the city’s cultural heritage after having been granted $2 million by the United States Department of State. The goal of the program is to encourage communities who fled the city during the war to return to Mosul by restoring parts of its Old City and artefacts. Even though the damages are catastrophic and the restoration is estimated to cost around $40 million, the program also receives the support of the United Arab Emirates, who are leading the preservation efforts and investing important amount of money to restore and preserve Mosul’s cultural heritage and remind everyone of the historical diversity of the Middle East.  

In many countries around the world, exhibitions have been created in order to promote the region’s history and culture and help the healing process. In Qatar, for example, “Syria matters” is a major exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art that runs from November 2018 to April 2019. Julia Gonnella, the director of the museum and the co-curator of the exhibition, said to the New York Times: “Islam is very much a shared culture, and the vision behind the museum is to show the peaceful side of Islam and its contribution to the world. We want to emphasize the heritage rather than the destruction of Syria.” Much of the media coverage since spring 2011 and the start of the civil war has focused on the devastation of the ancient cities of Aleppo and Palmyra, but this exhibition is designed to celebrate Syria’s contribution to language, religion, art, music and history in the Middle East and throughout the world and what has not been lost to years of warfare. The final room of the exhibit, however, focuses on the legacy of destruction and the healing process of Syria after the war.

“Cités Millénaires” (“Age-Old Cities”) at the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris, France, is another example of exhibits around the world depicting this healing process. The exhibit’s goal is to explore the destroyed or threatened archeological sites in the Middle East and Northern Africa. It focuses on four case studies: Mosul in Iraq, Aleppo and Palmyra in Syria, and Leptis Magna in Libya. In this exhibition, however, there are no artefacts on display, but instead dimly lit rooms with massive walls on which digitally reconstructed architectural monuments and comparison of the sites before and after the war are projected. This digital exhibition set up by Iconem—a Paris-based startup which documents and digitize endangered heritage sites—allows the viewers to be transported to each site and witness a glimpse of the tragic aftermath of damaged or destroyed ancient churches, Shiite mosques, mausoleums, pagan temples and souks. The director of Iconem, Yves Ubelmann, told Arab News: “When people talk about emergency, they think of health care, food shortage, or refugees, but not culture. If we don’t care about culture, it disappears. If culture disappears, societies will take more time to rebuild themselves because there is no base or identity.” 

On the same note, Aurélie Clemente-Ruiz, an Islamic art specialist and co-curator of the exhibition at IMA, told the same outlet: “The idea is that we need to preserve heritage everywhere in the world and save it for the next generation.” Indeed, in the years to come, as the region recovers from the civil war and the Islamic State’s occupation, it is most important that the Middle East restores its artefacts for young and future generations in the region and around the world to never forget their historical and cultural heritage.

Works Cited

Isakhan, Benjamin, and Jose Antonio Gonzalez Zarandona. “Erasing History: Why Islamic State Is Blowing up Ancient Artefacts.” The Conversation, 6 Dec. 2018, theconversation.com/erasing-history-why-islamic-state-is-blowing-up-ancient-artefacts-78667.

Ho, Gordon. “With a $2 Million Grant, Penn Faculty Travel to Mosul to Restore Sites Destroyed by ISIS.” The Daily Pennsylvanian, The Daily Pennsylvanian, 24 Jan. 2019, www.thedp.com/article/2019/01/mosul-iraq-penn-preservation-effort-conservation-sites-minority-groups.

Belcher, David. “Exhibitions in Qatar Celebrate Syria Before the War.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/arts/exhibitions-in-qatar-celebrate-syria-before-the-war.html.

Almously, Roya. “IMA Provides 'Virtual Tour' of Damaged Arab Heritage Sites.” Arab News, Arabnews, 7 Jan. 2019, www.arabnews.com/node/1429211/art-culture.