Scholars move to protect 'priceless' Iraqi heritage

The "grave danger" posed to the priceless heritage of Iraq by military action is highlighted in a declaration published today by more than 100 distinguished academics in the US and Europe.

They called on all governments to respect the international protocol protecting cultural property in armed conflict. The scholars are not just worried about the impact of bombs and tanks, but the looting that could accompany any breakdown of law and order in the aftermath of the war. During the last Gulf war a flourishing illegal trade in antiquities took off and from Afghanistan precious artefacts have disappeared into a worldwide black market.

Today's declaration, published in the journal Science, states: "The extraordinary global significance of the monuments, museums and archaeological sites of Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia) imposes an obligation on all peoples and governments to protect them."

The area around the rivers Tigris and Euphrates is often referred to as the "cradle of civilisation" with traces of human settlements dating back 10,000 years. It is where the first cities arose, where writing was invented and a succession of cultures have flourished - Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic.

The declaration, circulated initially by American scholars, goes on to offer help in assessing damage and in salvage operations. The original draft was criticised by British academics, smacking of "cultural imperialism", and today's revised letter says the signatories are willing to help "if invited" by the Iraqi department of antiquities after the war.

Professor Malcolm Bell, of the University of Virginia, who circulated the letter, said: "We don't want to imply we have any right to make these decisions. We would only be involved if the Iraqis want us to be involved. We want to help get the antiquities administration back on its feet and to return to the level of efficiency and effectiveness they had before 1991."

The archaeologists are calling on the American and British governments to uphold the validity of Iraq's existing, strong antiquities law.

The declaration continues: "To secure the long-term safety of the archaeological and cultural heritage of Iraq of all historical periods, and to stop the illicit digging and smuggling of antiquities that have occurred during the period of the embargo and that may follow a period of conflict, the staff of the Department of Antiquities must be returned to pre-embargo numbers in academic and technical fields. Most important, the number of guards for individual sites, monuments and museums must be returned to pre-embargo strength."

So far, there has been no official response from the US or UK governments, but Professor Bell said they were talking to officials in Washington who would play a role in the next few weeks in the hope of getting the message through.

The declaration has been signed by Lord Renfrew, Disney professor of archaeology at Cambridge, and colleagues at the university, as well as other archaeologists in the UK, several European institutions, the US and Japan.

A similar plea has gone out from the Brussels-based Blue Shield organisation, which represents four international bodies for libraries, museums, archives and monuments. It calls on governments to respect the 1954 Hague convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. Its president, Ross Shimmon, said: "A people's identity partly depends on cultural heritage and it is important for rebuilding confidence and the identity of the community."