Papers by Mirosław Olbryś
A. Pieńkowska, D. Szeląg, & I. Zych (Eds.), Stories told around the fountain. Papers offered to Piotr Bieliński on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press; PCMA UW. DOI:https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323541714, 2019
The Citadel in Erbil is the most important monument in Iraqi Kurdistan and a key archaeological s... more The Citadel in Erbil is the most important monument in Iraqi Kurdistan and a key archaeological site in ancient Mesopotamia in view of the preservation of a unique architectural and urban legacy, as well as the assumed archaeological heritage. The site covers an area of 10.2 hectares and features uninterrupted settlement from at least the 5th millennium BC. In 2006, the Kurdistan Regional Government launched a revitalization program aimed at attracting visitors from all over Iraq. In 2012, architectural and building-conservation documentation was prepared for a historic house, Building 22/3. Located in the southern part of the city, it is one of its oldest monuments (mid-19th century AD) with late Ottoman portals in the eastern façade attesting to its rich past.
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Hanna Jędras, Paweł Jaskanis (ed.), Muzeum Bezpieczne, Muzeologia, Tom 17, pp. 95-112, 2018
The role of cultural heritage in sustainable economic-social development is one of the most urgen... more The role of cultural heritage in sustainable economic-social development is one of the most urgent challenges in cultural heritage management in the 21st century.
Monuments of ancient Mesopotamia are the fundamental part of worlds’ patrimonium. After the Persian Gulf War (1991) Iraq was in political chaos and suffered from economic collapse and ongoing violence. The fate of Iraq’s culture and especially of its archaeological heritage, has been extremely dramatic in the late 20th and early 21st century. Robbery and destruction of monuments have become everyday life. From 2014 to 2017 intentional damaging was part of ISIS strategy. Nowadays the state of cultural heritage is dramatic and catastrophic: conservation works have been discontinued, there is a lack of daily care.
Changes awaiting Iraq after the war with ISIS will put cultural heritage in a new situation. Perhaps the Iraqi state will try to redefine its policy towards cultural heritage. Four pressing and fundamental issues come to the fore: A/ new historic policy (e.g. education of wide circles of Iraqi society – from local leaders, tribal sheiks to children and young people); B/ adjusting the law to requirements of present days (e.g. adaptation of the 2002 Antiquities Law to meet contemporary challenges; accession to the Second Protocol of the Hague Convention); C/ solid reinforcement of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and the Iraqi Archaeological Protection Police.
The most important strategic and long-term goals of preservation and conservation of cultural heritage are: A/ improvement of the state of the natural environment (protection of cultural resources should be an integral part of planning and management at local, provincial and national levels); B/ development of credible national register of cultural property; C/ reconstruction of museum infrastructure.
Among urgent and short-term activities the post-conflict inventory of heritage damage is at the forefront. Of greatest importance are the sites listed on the World Heritage Lists. Each of these places deserves to have a management plan developed for it.
Stabilization of the socio-political situation in Iraq is the only chance for effective protection and preservation of the cultural heritage. The Iraqi state will not cope with the challenges of cultural property recovery by itself. It is necessary to develop and implement a kind of international “Marshal Plan”: an Iraqi cultural heritage recovery program. First, the international community should engage urgently in a long process of study, protection and preservation of the historic places on both UNESCO Lists.
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The article was published in a special issue of Aktüel Arkeoloji Dergisi (the Actual Archaeology ... more The article was published in a special issue of Aktüel Arkeoloji Dergisi (the Actual Archaeology Magazine) entirely devoted to the destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq and Syria caused by Islamic terrorist organization called the Islamic State (IS).
Hatra (Arabic al-Hadhar) is one of Iraq’s least known tourist destinations despite being on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985 and despite the historical, cultural and artistic value that has made it a landmark classical archaeological site in the Middle East.
The relics of the legendary pre-Islamic city are so extensive (324 hectares in size) that they still remain largely unexcavated. It flourished under Parthian political and cultural influence, becoming a magnificent and widely known city. Its wealth accumulated from the long-distance caravan trade linking Mesopotamia and Arabia with Upper Syria and Asia Minor in the 1st through 3rd centuries AD. Hatra is considered to be the best surviving example of Parthian architecture. The unusual fusion of Mesopotamian and Greek arts, the East and the West, produced a strange and subtle art.
At the beginning of the 21st century the ruins of Hatra, just like hundreds of other archaeological sites throughout the country, became practically defenceless against illicit diggers. Mindless devastation at the site peaked in March 2015. At the beginning of April 2015, IS posted a propaganda video entitled “smashing idols” on the internet. The seven-minute footage showed several IS fighters deliberately damaging the sculptured architectural decoration of the southern part of the Great Iwans (iwans 12 and 4). Two partly reconstructed statues as well as Gorgon heads, human faces and statues of eagles set into the walls were devastated using sledgehammers, pickaxes and Kalashnikov rifles and PK machine guns. Guns were used to shoot at a line of statues of eagles and three smaller human faces placed in the South Iwan on the wall high up above a doorway.
Hatra was placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in July 2015. This sprawling Mesopotamian settlement and its intact natural landscape is in an urgent need of preservation and conservation. In order to lay the foundations for a salvage operation, it would be indispensable to prepare a comprehensive Management Plan as was the case recently with regard to the Erbil Citadel (2010) and the Babylon cultural landscape and archaeological site (2015).
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E. Mikos-Skuza, K. Sałaciński (red.), Ochrona dziedzictwa kultury w konfliktach zbrojnych w świetle prawa międzynarodowego i krajowego. 60 lat Konwencji Haskiej i 15 lat jej Protokołu II, Warszawa 2015, ISBN 978-83-63755-95-9, pp. 255-273., 2015
THE SPECIFICITY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TASKS TO PROTECT THE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN ARMED CONFLICT... more THE SPECIFICITY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TASKS TO PROTECT THE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN ARMED CONFLICTS IN THE LIGHT OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THE MISSION OF THE POLISH MILITARY CONTINGENT IN IRAQ (2003-2008)
The central-southern part of Iraq is a special and invaluable area of Mesopotamian heritage. The Multinational Division Central-South (MND CS) under Polish command operated in five central and southern governorates. It was partially prepared to protect archaeological and architectural treasures of ancient Babylonia and the northern part of Sumer. Since the beginning of the 1990s hundreds of archaeological site have been looted by well-organized and armed groups of robbers. This consistent and methodical plunder could not have been prevented by either the coalition troops entering Iraq or the local antiquity service.
Since October 2003 till 2008, eleven Polish archaeologists were acting within a frame of the Polish Military Contingent in Iraq. They were delegated by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for documentation, intervention and protection of archeological monuments located within the MND CS area of responsibility.
An aerial and ground reconnaissance and salvage recording of the state of preservation archeological heritage encompassed dozens of sites. In November 2004 three archaeologists elaborated a wealthy documented report on that time condition of the central part of the Babylon archaeological site, including historical buildings and monuments. This part was of the site had been used by the military as Camp Alpha (2003-2004). Initial condition assessment of the cultural heritage status in Qadisiyyah governorate was carried out at the beginning of 2005.
The protective barbed wire fences were installed around the most important archeological sites (Tell Uhaimir - Tell Ingharra, Tell Nuffar, Tell es-Sadum). Watchtowers were set at Birs Nimrud. Protective fences were installed around the most important monuments at the Babylon site together with a system of cameras.
The archaeologists co-operated and supported the regional branches of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Babil, Najaf, Qadisiyyah and Wasit governorates (refurbishment of museums and offices; delivery of cars, computer equipment). Every cultural heritage project was consulted and agreed with Iraqi regional authorities responsible for monuments.
Recreated in 2004 the Facility Protection Service (FPS or “Archaeological Police”) was equipped with basic equipment including uniforms, bullet proof vests, helmets, radios, metal detector. Shooting training was also provided by the MND CS staff. The FPS stations were created (building at Tell Nuffar; containers at Birs Nimrud, Tell es-Sadum) or repaired (Babylon).
The archaeologists delivered to the MND CS detachments awareness training on legal issues on protection of cultural heritage and the history of Iraq. Prepared leaflets on Babylon’s monuments were distributed. Military presence at the heart of such priceless ancient settlements like Babylon and Kish influenced heavily their state of preservation.
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Wiadomości Konserwatorskie - Pismo Stowarzyszenia Konserwatorów Zabytków / Conservation News - Journal of the Association of Monument Conservators, Vol. 31, pp. 140-143, 2012
The State Enterprise Atelier for Conservation of Cultural Property, known under the acronym PP PK... more The State Enterprise Atelier for Conservation of Cultural Property, known under the acronym PP PKZ (stands for Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytków), was founded according to the Ruling of the Polish Ministry of Culture and Art of 25 Aug 1950. Professor Jan Zachwatowicz, one of the pillars of Poland’s post-war conservation, was the moving spirit of the PP PKZ creation. As the company grew and consolidated, it gained a many-sided skill in every field of conservation, restoration, and preventive activities. The structure of this biggest Polish specialist company encompassed qualified professionals in 52 fields of conservation. The idea of an enterprise undertaking multidirectional conservation duties was a turning-point and a challenge on a world-wide scale. From the beginning the PP PKZ practised an interdisciplinary approach, combining scientific examinations and research with artistic conservation and implementation of new technologies.
Foreign activity of the company included complex conservation projects as well as conservation of works of art and artistic handcrafts. Since 1968 until the late 1990s, employees of the PP PKZ carried out several hundred heritage conservation projects in over 30 countries in Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Russia), Africa, Asia and North and Central America. Those projects were of various scales and involved both huge urban complexes, and smaller objects but of highly architectural or historical value. More than 20 tasks were implemented on sites that are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The PP PKZ established 12 research-conservation missions abroad aimed at saving outstanding monuments of world culture heritage. The missions operated in European countries (Belarus, North Macedonia), in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt), Asia (Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam), even reaching to the Caribbean (Cuba). The main idea behind the mission work was cooperation in research, design and conservation work, training both the PP PKZ personnel in specific local conditions, and local specialists.
Strong and permanent ties linked the PP PKZ with the most important foreign organisations (i.a. UNESCO) and conservation centres (i.a. Getty’s Conservation Institute, English Heritage). It was an acknowledgement of its merits in the field of preservation of cultural heritage when the company was admitted as member of the ICOMOS (Paris) and the ICCROM (Rome). The high level of implementation and an ability to co-operate with partners confirm conquered prizes, e.g. Europa Nostra Prize and the Gold Medal at International Conservation Fairs denkmal ’96 in Lipsk.
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Historia i kultura państwa III dynastii z Ur, D. Szeląg ed. [=Instytut Archeologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Seria podręczników VII], Warszawa, pp. 99-107, 2007
For the reconstruction of developments in Western Syria at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, the... more For the reconstruction of developments in Western Syria at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, the most valuable and assured is textual documentation from the so-called Palace G in Tell Mardikh, and from strictly archaeological materials - ceramics. In the third millennium BCE all areas of Western Syria suitable for cultivation were densely populated, especially the northern and central parts and the Euphrates region. The number and size of settlements increased. Regional systems with central centers were created, and several cities appeared in written sources (Gubla, Ebla, Mari).
TIMES OF THE EBLA ARCHIVES (XXIV century BCE): The archives of palace G (Tell Mardikh II B 1 layer) show a fully developed, highly specialized economic center with the capital in Ebla. It controlled an area of about 200 km from north to south and about 100 km from east to west. The texts mention about 800 place names in the area controlled by Ebla. The source of wealth was the cultivation of cereals and flax, animal husbandry and wool processing. The fall of Ebla should be combined with the crisis that caused the disappearance of cultural and linguistic ties connecting Ebla with Mari and the cities of northern Babylonia, known as the "civilization of Kish".
EARLY SYRIAN PERIOD III (ca. 2350-2000 BCE): perhaps the reign of Ishar-Damu, the last ruler of Ebla, ended thanks to Sargon of Akkade, who announced that he ruled Ebla, or his grandson Nara-Sin, who in turn claimed that he had defeated Armanum and destroyed Ebla. At the end of the third millennium B.C. there were no strong political centers in Syria. Urshu, Ebla, Gubla and Qatna on the Homs plain had some economic and commercial significance. There have been changes in the ethnic composition of the population.
The clear ceramic sequence enables relative dating of the cultural sequence common to the regions of Amuq, Tell Mardikh, Ras Shamra and Hama. Ceramic assemblies called caliciform stand out with the mass production of plain and corrugated cups. Its occurrence over the upper Euphrates is interpreted as the influence of the Ebla state. The ceramic horizon of Tell Mardikh II B 1-2 creates a gradually evolving, one cultural unit.
Scanty written sources and difficult to interpret archaeological materials (no full stratigraphy, analyzes, C14 dates and publications) allow only to outline further research directions instead of synthesis:
a) Commonly used "middle" chronology, worse than "short", matches material from Western Syria. There is no correlation between the Akkadian dynasty kings and the Egyptian rulers. A solution is waiting for the correlation of materials from "urban" Syria and "pastoral" Palestine in the late 3rd millennium BCE.
b) The periodization attempts of Western Syria history in the 3rd Millennium BCE are based on the extrapolation of the history of Mesopotamia. They still remain working hypotheses. The only certain relative turning point is the destruction of Palace G at Tell Mardikh.
c) It has still not been proven that archaeological material from Syrian sites should be combined with the expeditions of the kings of Akkade. In the period 2300-2100 BCE no new type of ceramics appeared, but its quality improved.
d) The amount of archaeological materials is increasing (including the Archaic Palace P at Tell Mardikh, or powerful fortifications in Tell es-Sweyhat), proving that the term "dark age" for the late 3rd Millennium BCE results rather from randomness of research and the state of knowledge.
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Murzyn M. A., Purchla J. (eds.), Cultural Heritage in the 21st Century. Opportunities and Challenges. Materials from the International Conference Held on 24-28 May 2006, pp. 233-243, Krakow, 2007
The Iraqi cultural heritage has been seriously afflicted for many years. Under a strong-arm régim... more The Iraqi cultural heritage has been seriously afflicted for many years. Under a strong-arm régime of Saddam Hussein monuments were used for political purposes (e.g. propaganda programmes of reconstruction carried out at Babylon or Niniveh). On the other hand mighty armed conflicts with neighbouring countries lasting incessantly for over 25 years also posed threats.
After the Second Gulf War (2003) the Polish government has made an attempt to assist Iraq with protection of archaeological heritage of central south part of the country. The paper deals with fundamental questions of the scope of an archaeologist’s work during an open armed conflict. What kind of strategies should be developed for protection of cultural heritage? How effective can be the activity of a specialist in protection of cultural heritage in such extreme conditions? How to settle the relations with local authorities responsible for monuments? Have the key objectives of the Hague Convention performed well or failed in Iraq?
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Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, Vol. 8, pp. 88-104, 2007
Iraq is the cradle of modern civilization, the land of ancient Mesopotamia, and thus unparalleled... more Iraq is the cradle of modern civilization, the land of ancient Mesopotamia, and thus unparalleled in its wealth of heritage sites. For years, with its strong Antiquities Law and its professional State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Iraq protected its antiquities successfully. But since the beginning of the 1990s, many archaeological sites have been
looted.
Following the Second Gulf War (2003) the Polish government has attempted to assist Iraq. Since November 2003 the Polish Ministry of Culture has been delegating archaeologists for purposes of documentation, intervention and protection of the archaeological monuments located in the central southern part of Iraq, the core land of ancient Babylonia and Sumer. In close cooperation with Iraqi archaeologists, twenty-four projects valued at US$680,000 have been implemented between January 2004 and April 2005, involving aerial and ground reconnaissance and salvage recording of the most threatened archaeological sites. The Polish team has also conducted education and awareness training of the Coalition forces detachments to promote respect for heritage.
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Z Otchłani Wieków, Vol. 60, Fasc. 1-4, pp. 212-222, 2005
Iraqi archaeological heritage is a unique element of the world’s cultural heritage in urgent need... more Iraqi archaeological heritage is a unique element of the world’s cultural heritage in urgent need of protection. Since the 1980s it has been a subject of different forms of destruction: thefts, wars, looting of sites and years of neglect. The first sign of the beginning of the rebuilding of Iraq’s antiquities service was establishing the Force for the Protection of Sites (FPS) in 2004.
Tell Nuffar, covering the remains of the religious capital of ancient Sumer - Nibru and Babylon, the legendary capital of Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar II as well as Alexander the Great, are the most extensive archeological resources of central Iraqi governorates - Al-Qādisiyyah and Babil. Both sites will also be great tourism destinations in the future.
The armed conflict 2003-2005 left its impression differently on both archaeological sites. At Tell Nuffar, robbers marked their presence in a limited way. Babylon, despite the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954), severely experienced the presence of a military base built on the basis of infrastructure harmful to monuments from the time of Saddam Hussein. The “Camp Alpha” operated here for almost a year and a half.
Undoubtedly, the relics of both Babylon and Nibru / Nippur deserve to be on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Both Mesopotamian sites, belonging to the most extensive in Iraq, with high thickness of archaeological strata, have been only partially recognized so far. Currently in Babylon, the main emphasis should be placed on rescue research to document the present state of the entire archaeological site, as well as the implementation of urgent conservation work, primarily on architectural reconstructions. Following the inspection on the site Tell Nuffar requires restoration work of the ziggurat and documentation as well as a rescue examination of parts of the site destroyed by robbers.
Captions for figures
1. Cities of ancient Mesopotamia: ● - historical place names, ▲ - contemporary place names. Computer drawing: A. Okrutniak.
2. Site of Tell Fara, remains of the Sumerian city Shuruppak, badly looted by robbers. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, February 2005.
3. Site of Tell Jokha, remains of the Sumerian city Umma, badly looted by robbers. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, February 2005.
4. Site of Tell Nuffar, ancient Nibru/Nippur, remains of the shrine of Enlil with a ziggurat, or stepped tower surrounded by courtyard seen from a bird’s eye view. March 2005. Author’s archive.
5. Site of Tell Nuffar, monumental relics of a ziggurat, or stepped tower, seen from the north-west. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
6. Site of Tell Nuffar, remains of the North Temple. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
7. Site of Tell Nuffar, looting pits dug by robbers in the western part of the site. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
8. Site of Babylon, the reconstructed „Babylonian House” in the foreground and to the right the reconstructed temple dedicated to the mother-goddess Ninmah. In the background is the former palace of Saddam Hussein. February 2004. Author’s archive.
9. Site of Babylon, the reconstructed Southern Palace seen from a bird’s eye view from the north-west. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
10. Site of Babylon, a fragment of the ruined Northern Palace. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
11. Site of Babylon, reconstructions of the Ishtar of Agade Temple, the Nabu-sha-hari Temple and four Neo-Babylonian houses. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
Photos nos. 1 - 2, 4 - 6 and 8 - 9 come from The Archives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
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Babylon was one of the biggest and greatest cities of the Ancient Near East. At present the ruins... more Babylon was one of the biggest and greatest cities of the Ancient Near East. At present the ruins of Babylon extend over an area of 850 ha and constitute the largest ancient settlement in Mesopotamia.
The Report compiled in November 2004 on the state of the major relics in Babylon at that time, together with documentation of the modern infrastructure erected on the site during the 24-year rule of the late Saddam Hussein.
The use of substantial part of the Babylon archaeological site as a Coalition military base ("Camp Alpha") between April 2003 and December 2004 involved the placement of a major military facility, some 150 hectares in extent, directly on the center of the archaeological site.
The Report was prepared by the three Polish archaeologists (Mirosław Olbryś, Tomasz Burda and Agnieszka Dolatowska) stationed with Multinational Division Central South at Camp Alpha, for the occasion of the return of the site to Iraqi authorities. It reflects the condition of the site on the day of the hand over by the Multinational Forces in Iraq to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.
The Report has 107 text pages and over 1037 photographs and is a kind of conservation inventory. It assesses the condition of all the historical buildings erected on the ancient foundations and monuments located within the boundaries of the Camp Alpha. The document consists of two parts: (I) a catalogue divided into eleven zones established inside the Camp and (II) a second catalogue comprising fifteen historical buildings and monuments also located inside the Camp. Each catalogue item includes textual description and photographs. The part I and the entries of the part II have their own pagination and numbering of photographs.
A separate “Real Estate Inspection Report” on the fifty-two buildings (including the former palace of Saddam Hussein on an enormous artificial earthen hill) built on the site in the 1980s and 1990s was also prepared and joined.
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Di tích Mỹ So’n / My Son Relics, 1999
The artistic and architectural vestiges of the Champa empire (6th-15th centuries) occupy the cent... more The artistic and architectural vestiges of the Champa empire (6th-15th centuries) occupy the central and southern parts of Vietnam. The Cham people were masters of brick architecture and exceptional sculptors. Among the 250 Cham sites, identified by the French scholars at the beginning of the XXth c., My Son occupies a unique place. It was the religious capital of the northern region of Cham.
My Son, one of the longest inhabited archaeological sites in Indochina, was largely destroyed during the war in 1969. Only twenty out of seventy-one Hindu tower temples survived in ruins. Of several projects, executed by the Polish-Vietnamese Conservation Mission (1980-1996) headed by the late architect Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, the most important thing was the My Son temple complex. The process of destruction of the monuments was halted. The most indispensable and urgent conservation treatments were executed, salvaging the ancient substance as much as possible.
In 1996, the World Monuments Fund placed it on the World List of Endangered Sites. In 1999 the My Son Sanctuary became Vietnam’s only UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Site and a great tourism destination.
In order to use wisely the potential of the My Son Sanctuary and to protect it in the long run, it is necessary to prepare a comprehensive and a multi-year site management plan. The general as well as specific objectives of this strategic plan are outlined in this paper. The suggested preservation strategies have drawn from Kazimierz Kwiatkowski’s fifteen years of experience in the conservation of this exceptional site. The fundamental principle for all activity should be the conservation of original substance. In the meantime, while the funds necessary for a serious approach to the conservation work on the site are not yet available, the preferred form of activity is preventing further deterioration.
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Z Otchłani Wieków, Vol. 54, Fasc. 1, pp. 22-31, 1999
Iran, due to its unique location between the oriental countries of the Mediterranean world and th... more Iran, due to its unique location between the oriental countries of the Mediterranean world and the Far East, and between the Indian Peninsula and Central Asia, is one of the richest and most interesting regions in the world in terms of archaeological and architectural heritage. Iran is estimated to have over 300,000 archaeological sites, ranging from prehistoric caves and campsites to highly complex monuments and cities. The UNESCO World Heritage List includes as many as 24 sites from this country and reflects Iran’s cultural complexity.
When in 1996 the opportunity arose for a two-month trip to the former Persia, I took advantage of it without much hesitation. The invitation, for advisory and study purposes, of two people from Poland (Dr. Lech Krzyżanowski, an art historian and myself, an archaeologist), was probably an attempt to establish substantive contacts with representatives of the state, perceived in Iran as neutral, and with extensive conservation experience. After all, after 1979, the visits of foreign conservators and archaeologists to the Islamic Republic of Iran almost ceased.
Among the questions that I asked myself before the trip and during my stay in Iran, they were also the most basic. What were the social consequences of the April 1979 revolution of the Shiite clergy? Have these changes been reflected in the areas closest to me, and to what extent, i.e. in archaeology and preservation and conservation of monuments?
The host of the stay was the City Conservation Office, an organizational unit of the Ministry of Construction and Urban Planning. The agreed program of stay (Esfahan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Tehran) was finally modified. We got to know Tepe Sialk thoroughly, probably the richest archaeological site in central Iran. We spent the most time in western Iran, where the most interesting monuments from the point of view of archeology and conservation are located. For the first month our base was Esfahan, which is nicknamed "paradise", according to many, the most beautiful city in Central South Asia. The soul of the city of Esfahan is the river called the Zâyandeh (“life-giving”) Rud with its extraordinary bridges. We visited most of the historical places in the Isfahan province (including Ardistan, Kashan, Nain, Natanz, Zavareh).
We studied the well-preserved architectural remains of the Sassanid period (226-651), important for understanding the Islamic period: still, little known temples of fire (including the "building with four arches" [Pers. chhar taq] in Natanz) and the walls of the citadels in Tarq, Nain and Muhammadiyya built of mud brick.
After a 2-hour flight over the Zagros Mountains, we found ourselves in the Ahwaz province, ancient Elam. Geographically, Khuzestan is an extension of the fertile Mesopotamian Plain. From the 3rd millennium BCE Elamites, Achaemenians and Sasanians all built their royal cities here. The most important day of my stay was a long sunny day when I saw the monumental Chogha Zanbil with the best-preserved Ziggurat in the Middle East, the fascinating Haft Tepe and Susa, the most important city of the Elamite civilization.
Captions for figures
On page 23: Modern towns and archaeological sites in Iran. Computer drawing: L. Kobylińska.
On page 24 (top): The site of Tepe Sialk, the Northern Mound, in the background the South Citadel Mound. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 24 (bottom): The site of Susa, the author on the edge of R. Ghirshman's great stratigraphic trench on a hill called the Royal City. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 27: The site of Nain, remains of the citadel from the Sassanian period. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 28 (top): The site of Chogha Zanbil, the Ziggurat from the Middle Elamite period (13th century BCE). Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 28 (bottom): The site of Haft Tepe, the entrance to the Royal Tomb (mid-2nd Millennium BCE). Photo: Mirosław Olbryś
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Zapiski Archeologiczne, Fasc. 3, pp. 13-18, 1999
DOES POLISH ARCHEOLOGY NEED A CODE OF ETHICS?
Archeology has evolved over the course of a century... more DOES POLISH ARCHEOLOGY NEED A CODE OF ETHICS?
Archeology has evolved over the course of a century and a half from the hobby of antiquity lovers to the highly respected auxiliary science of history. The last quarter century has brought an acceleration of its maturation: management of sites instead of exploitation. There is a clear tendency to limit excavation work as non-destructive research techniques are definitely developed. The emphasis is on rescue and preservation work. There is a noticeable tendency towards a comprehensive approach to archeology, and material culture is seen as part of a larger context, including the environment, the historical landscape and the sources still in the ground. The archaeological resources cannot be renewed and the excavations cause irreversible changes. There is a noticeable trend to look for the best methods of conservation, stabilization of archaeological sites and preservation of monuments in situ. Less destructive archaeological research is starting to dominate, and the classic excavation method is reduced to a minimum. Telemetry techniques are increasingly used, allowing information to be recorded using a camera, radar or magnetometers. Thanks to the use of high-resolution satellites and scanners, it is now possible to conduct very accurate theoretical field studies.
New discipline is taking root in archaeology – the management of archaeological sites. It was born from the end of World War II on, it developed for good in the 1970s in the U.S., from where it was transferred to Europe. Archaeology as a research discipline extends the definition of its tasks to include the philosophy of managing cultural heritage. It is a systematic and holistic approach when making decisions on research, protection, restoration, development and maintenance of places related to the human past. It is especially important to reconcile the values inscribed in the archaeological site: historical, scientific, aesthetic, economic, cultural, educational, religious and political.
The history of conservation of archaeological sites in Poland dates back to the partitions (19th century). The period after the Second World War brought the development of rescue research and outstanding achievements in the research of historical cities. Since 1978, a nationwide research and conservation program for the Polish Archaeological Record has been carried out. On a par with other categories, archaeological monuments are protected by law. For years, research in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean has brought Polish archeology international prestige. An important signal of changes and appreciation of the rank of archaeological heritage in formal and legal terms was the ratification by Poland of the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage of 1992.
Questions about the ways and limits of human cognition and the ethical responsibility of science are constantly relevant. The discussion of conservation ethics in American archeology began in the 1970s when it was recognized that archaeological testimony was non-renewable and was rapidly disappearing. In Poland, this state is being achieved with difficulty at present. The basis of ethics in archeology is the assumption that every effort should be made to preserve and dispose wisely of the archaeological heritage. It is an urgent task to start a discussion, accept and disseminate by the Scientific Association of Polish Archaeologists a proposal of ethical standards for the conduct of archaeologists. Its implementation will certainly be the right message of the professional community for future archaeologists. The 19th century with its imponderabilia has passed irretrievably, and Erazm Majewski's Ten Archaeological and Prehistoric Commandments in the 21st century may not be enough.
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Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki, Vol. 42, Fasc. 3, pp. 259-265, 1997
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIM OF THE GERMAN SOCIETY FOR ORIENTAL STUDIES: (The oriental town:... more THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIM OF THE GERMAN SOCIETY FOR ORIENTAL STUDIES: (The oriental town: Continuity - Transformation - Decline), Halle 9-10 May 1996
The German Society for Oriental Studies (Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft), established in 1898 in Berlin, conducted research into the most important ancient urban layouts in the Near East: Babylon (1899-1917), Asshur (1902-1913), Hattusas (since 1906) and Akhetaten (since 1911). The desire to take a fresh look at the achievements of the members of the Society (e.g., Habuba Kabira, ca. 3500 B.C. [fig. 1] or Tell Munbaqa - ancient Ekalte, ca. 2600 - 1200 B.C. over the central Euphrates) as well as of scholars from other countries (e.g., Khirbet ed Diniye - ancient Haradum, from 18 - 17 century B.C. [fig. 2]) prompted the authorities of this organization to select urban issues as the theme of the first DOG International Colloquium.
The colloquium was attended by about 150 participants, chiefly from Germany but also from France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, who presented 22 papers, illustrated with slides and plans. The speakers included predominantly archaeologists and philologists but also an architect, a geographer and an ethnologist. More than half of the speeches concerned ancient Mesopotamia where the urbanisation process occurred the earliest.
Problems connected with the town were considered from assorted points of view: town-planning, architecture, history, ideology, religion, etc. The papers will be issued in 1997 in a book that shall inaugurate a new series of the Society. The Halle conference can be considered as another discussion on the problems of early towns, but no means as an ultimate solution of the topic.There appears an increasingly distinct necessity for resorting to the research apparatus of contemporary town planning, i. a. spatial analyses, for the purposes of studying the town planning of the Ancient Near East. The applied terminology should become closer, if not overlap, to the contemporary vocabulary of urban planning.
Oriental towns should be examined minutely not only by archaeologists but also by architects, planners and town planners. Thanks to efficient and competent organization, the event held in Halle provided an excellent occasion for becoming acquainted with the present-day state of research. Another convenient opportunity will be offered by the second Colloquium, dealing with Babylon. It will take place in Berlin in 1998 on the 100th anniversary of the Society.
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Ochrona Zabytków, Vol. 49, Fasc. 1, pp. 8-20, 1996
Relicts of Mesopotamian cities like Uruk, Nippur, Asshur or Babylon constitute a basis for unders... more Relicts of Mesopotamian cities like Uruk, Nippur, Asshur or Babylon constitute a basis for understanding of civilisations of the Ancient Near East and formation of the cities. Mesopotamia is a region which has traditionally attracted the attention of eminent archeologists (e.g. Robert Koldewey). The appreciation of the significance of this cultural heritage by the Iraqi authorities was expressed in the establishment of the State Organization of Antiquities and Heritage in 1958. The Organization initiated its own research and offered foreign scholarships for young Iraqi archaeologists. Cultural heritage became an important factor for constructing cohesive national consciousness. In the 1970s, this was manifested by the commencement of conservation programs for large urban archaeological sites such as Ashur and Babylon. Relicts of Babylon have especially signifi¬cance for national identification and for development of local and international tourism.
The article discusses the history of past excavations and describes the achieved results significant for the world history of town-planning and wider comprehended culture. "The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project" was set up with the aim of pro¬tection and ren-dering accessible remains of the most celebrated and largest settlement in ancient Mesopotamia. General principles of conservator's procedure were adopted. The promising realization, commenced in 1978, of an unprecedented and ambitious project to be carried out under Dr. Muayed Sa’id Damerji was slowed down owing to the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). The work itself had not been interrupted, but information about its progress remains scarce.
In 1987 the completion of the first stage of the Project was declared. The excavations intended to make the city lay-out more readable. Especially of value there was unearthing a temple of Nabu at the corner of temenos. There were relatively not many interven¬tions to protect and to strengthen a matter of monuments according to the principles of conser¬vation in the meaning of the Charter of Venice. Most of work carrying out in Babylon it is in fact reconstruction based on original founda¬tions. Materials similar to original ones (bricks, mortar) have been used; also cement has been employed in great quantity.
“The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project” has turned out to be the largest field of activity of archaeologists and architectural conservators all over the World at the end of the XXth century. Until 1994 the objectives of the Project have not been fulfilled after 16 years of implemen¬tation. Practical interventions started without elaboration of technology planned preservation work. Conservation of the whole com¬plex was replaced by reconstruction of sev-eral monuments (the Southern Palace, the temple of Belet-Akkade) while the others were protected in a way that causes doubts (the temple of Nabu). The lay-out of the city was cleared thanks to the uncovering of some new buildings and removing the rubble from the ones known earlier. An especially important matter is a problem of com¬bating with sa¬linity and a high level of water yet nowhere solved on such large scale.
In the opinion of the author, centres of archaeology and archaeological conservation throughout the world should offer their knowledge and experience to the Iraqi scholars who face numerous problems connected with the local climate, size of the area, historical substance material and, in particular, the struggle against salinity, nowhere solved upon such a scale, as well as the hydrogeology of the region.
Monuments of Babylon have not been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List although this is not to say that the site in question is not a fundamental part of the human legacy. It also makes one wonder if the local archaeologists should solve the current conservation problems only themselves.
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Orient-Express, Fasc. 2, pp. 50-52, 1995
"The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project" was set up in 1978 with the aim of protection and... more "The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project" was set up in 1978 with the aim of protection and rendering accessible the remains of the most celebrated and largest settlement in ancient Mesopotamia. General principles of conservator's procedure were adopted.
In 1987 the completion of the first stage of the project was declared. The excavations intended to make the city lay-out more readable. Especially of value there was unearthing a temple of Nabu at the corner of temenos. There were relatively not many interventions to protect and to strengthen a matter of monuments according to the principles of conservation in the meaning of the Charter of Venice. Most of work carrying out in Babylon it is in fact reconstruction based on original foundations. Materials similar to original ones (bricks, mortar) have been used; also cement has been employed in great quantity.
The objectives of the Project of 1978 have not been fulfilled after 16 years of implementation. Conservation of the whole complex was replaced by reconstruction of several monuments (e.g. the Southern Palace, the temple of Belet-Akkade) while the others were protected in a way that causes doubts (the temple of Nabu). The lay-out of the city was cleared thanks to the uncovering of some new buildings and removing the rubble from the ones known earlier. An especially important matter is a problem of combating with a salinity and a high level of water yet nowhere solved on such large scale.
This communiqué descends from my diploma dissertation "The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project (1978-1994) - conservator's reflections" (The Postgraduate Course on Conservation of Urban and Architectural Monuments at the Department of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology, 1995).
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Egipt, Editors: T. Dziedzic & D. Dumas, Warszawa, Publisher: Centralny Ośrodek Informacji Budownictwa, Pages: 61-78, 1988
The mission of the specialist State Ateliers for Conservation of Cultural Property (hereafter PKZ... more The mission of the specialist State Ateliers for Conservation of Cultural Property (hereafter PKZ), est. 1950, was the comprehensive implementation of conservation projects. The interdisciplinary activity of the company included scientific research, conservation and artistic activities and the implementation of new technologies into conservation practice. Particularly important was the multi-level vocational training, from improving the skills of craftsmen to postgraduate studies. Post-war Poland avoided the decline of traditional craftsmanship, as was the case in Western Europe and the Soviet Union.
The developed scientific and research potential facilitated the establishment of 12 foreign research and conservation missions by the PKZ. Their activities covered European countries (Belarus, North Macedonia), North Africa (Algeria, Egypt), Asia (Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam), reaching the Caribbean (Cuba). They were mixed teams consisting of the PKZ experts and local specialists. The basic idea behind the missions was cooperation in research, design and conservation works, training of the PKZ staff in specific local conditions, exchange of conservation experiences and training of local specialists. The company delegated the best employees to work in missions whose task was to carry out — depending on the type of monument — architectural, archaeological, conservation, anthropological, etc. research, development and preparation of documentation as well as the implementation or supervision of the implementation of conservation measures.
Among the monuments of antiquity, the most important monument preserved by the PKZ team was the temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari (the 15th century BCE), one of the most exposed monuments of Egypt. The mission, created on the initiative of Prof. K. Michałowski, was active in the scientific program of the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw since 1968. The efforts of the Gdańsk Branch team of the PKZ were concentrated in those parts of the temple, the reconstruction of which would restore its original proportions and shape of the facade. The second goal was to build in as many original elements as possible. The reconstruction of the ledge, discovered in 1969, restored the protection of the temple against rock overhangs that threatened to fall.
The team of the Kielce Branch of the PKZ carried out conservation work at the Amir Qurqumas architectural complex in the area of the Necropolis of the Caliphs in Cairo. This mausoleum is considered to be one of the most well-known architectural examples of the Memeluke Period (1250-1517) in Egypt. Members of the mission conducted research, documentation and design works here, and supervised construction works carried out by an Egyptian subcontractor (1972-87).
In the years 1985-87, a mission from the Research and Conservation Branch (Warsaw) of the PKZ conducted in Ashmumein architectural and archaeological research of the relics of the early Christian basilica from the 5th century AD.
In Marina el Alamein, hiding the remains of a Hellenistic city (the 3rd-1st century BCE), a team from the Zamość Branch of the PKZ started in 1987 inventory and reconstruction works of the house, tombstone monument and an underground cistern.
Captions for figures
1. The Amir Qurqumas architectural complex. View from the south-east. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
2. A fragment of the burial chamber in the mausoleum of Amir Qurqumas. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
3. The mosque minaret in the complex of Amir Qurqumas. State before the start of research and conservation works. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
4. The mosque minaret in the complex of Amir Qurqumas. Condition after completion of reconstruction works. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
5. The East liwan in the mosque of the Amir Qurqumas complex. Survey along the walls to uncover fragments of wall decorations. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
6. The East liwan in the mosque of the Amir Qurqumas complex. Final phase of works on the installation of marble panel cladding. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
7. Stonemason at work. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
8. Prof. Tadeusz Dzierżykray-Rogalski during anthropomorphic measurements. In the background, Jerzy Kania — head of the Islamic Architecture Mission. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
9. Control of the correctness of the copper element making the top of the minaret dome. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
10. Control of the accuracy of the installation of the ledge on one of the galleries of the minaret. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
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Studia i Materiały Archeologiczne, Vol. 6, pp. 39-59, 1987
Lively discussions raise the problem of the so-called Syrian type temple genesis. Structures base... more Lively discussions raise the problem of the so-called Syrian type temple genesis. Structures based on the antae plan did not occur in Mesopotamian religious architecture. There were no prototypes for the plan of a rectangular building in antis in areas adjacent to northern Syria. This type of plan did not exist also in northern Syria in the 3rd millennium BCE in residential construction and was characteristic only of sacred architecture.
There was a clear tendency in the development of the plan of North Syrian religious buildings in the third millennium BCE. It consisted in gradual enrichment of the plan with additional elements. The oldest buildings, dated around 2750 BCE, (the temple of the 5th and 4th layer below the "Little Antae Temple" of Tell Chuēra (Fig. 1. D) and the temple of Munbaqat (Fig. 4) were erected according to a simple architectural plan. They were characterized by an elongated shape and the location of the entrance on one of the short walls, opposite the podium, serving as an altar. Shrines of the in antis type dated to a slightly later period were excavated at Tell Chuēra (eg. "Little Antae Temple" [Fig. 1.AC], "Northern Temple" [Fig. 9], the temple within the "Outer Building" [Fig. 10]) and at Halawa tell ("A"). The predecessor of "Big Temple D" of Tell Mardikh (dated to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE) had an already developed tripartite plan with a division into cell, antecella and vestibule (Fig. 11).
This group of temples was characterized by: a/ rectangular plan, b/ rigid axiality, c/ no open courtyard, d/ east-west orientation and e/ common construction features. The striking repetition of the essential features makes it possible to discern in these sacred buildings the prototypes of the so-called Syrian temple type. This shape, so typical of northern Syria, is attested in the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE among others at Tell Mardikh, Munbaqat, Tell Fray, Meskene, Tell Ain Dara and Tell Tayinat.
The discovery of centres of supra-regional importance (Tell Chuēra, Tell Mardikh) proves that northern Syria was not a backward area in terms of the degree of civilization achieved in comparison with Mesopotamia or Elam. The foundations of the architectural and artistic tradition of Syria developed during the Early Syrian Period II. Sacred architecture, with a characteristic group of in antis buildings, is one of the highly original features of Syrian art. The appearance of temples erected on the antae plan in the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE, the frequency of using this scheme, up to the Iron Age, proves that it is an original, deeply rooted in the North Syrian tradition, a feature of the culture of this region.
Captions for figures
1. Tell Chuēra. Schematic plan of the "Little Antae Temple". A - layer 1, B - layer 2, C - layer 3, D - layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 17.
2. Tell Chuēra. The "Little Antae Temple" sector plan. Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, plan III.
3. View of the cella of the "Little Antae Temple" from Tell Chuēra. Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 19.
4. Isometric reconstruction of the Munbaqat temple. Layer 4c. According to J. Boese, W. Orthmann, Munbaqat ..., Saarbrücken 1976, Fig. 3.
5. Tell Chuēra. Schematic sketch of the "Little Antae Temple". Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 7.
6. View from the south-east on the "Little Antae Temple". Layer 2. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 6b.
7. Tell Chuēra. Schematic plan of the "Little Antae Temple" sector. Layer 2. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1965, Plan VI.
8. View from the north-east of the "Northern Temple" in Tell Chuēra. According to U. Moortgat-Correns, Die Bildwerke von Djebelet el Beda ..., Berlin – New York 1972, Plate XXXIII.
9. Tell Chuēra. The plan of the "Northern Temple". According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1962, Plan II.
10. Tell Chuēra. The Plan of “The Outer Building” sector. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1960, Fig. 9.
11. Tell Mardikh. The Plan of the “Big Temple D”. According to P. Matthiae, Ebla ..., Turin 1977, Fig. 30
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Book Reviews by Mirosław Olbryś
Ochrona Zabytków, Vol. 68, Fasc. 2, pp. 243-248, 2015
Conservation of monuments and archaeological researches have had in Poland long tradition and hav... more Conservation of monuments and archaeological researches have had in Poland long tradition and have been a sort of national speciality. Scientists, archaeologists and conservators from Poland have been recognised in particular in the realm of protection, research and management of cultural heritage. Conservators and archaeologists have been very good ambassadors of Polish science and technical ideas. They work on the development of new methodologies and technologies through research and active participation in interdisciplinary projects.
The bilingual publication entitled Poland for World Heritage / La Pologne pour le patrimoine mundiale is a type of a catalogue prepared on the occasion of an exhibition under the same title in 2013. The exhibition presented achievements, experience and potential of Poland in conservation and research of monuments mainly inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The publication presents historical examples of the work of Polish teams in Egypt and Sudan, South America as well as in the Middle and Far East.
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Papers by Mirosław Olbryś
Monuments of ancient Mesopotamia are the fundamental part of worlds’ patrimonium. After the Persian Gulf War (1991) Iraq was in political chaos and suffered from economic collapse and ongoing violence. The fate of Iraq’s culture and especially of its archaeological heritage, has been extremely dramatic in the late 20th and early 21st century. Robbery and destruction of monuments have become everyday life. From 2014 to 2017 intentional damaging was part of ISIS strategy. Nowadays the state of cultural heritage is dramatic and catastrophic: conservation works have been discontinued, there is a lack of daily care.
Changes awaiting Iraq after the war with ISIS will put cultural heritage in a new situation. Perhaps the Iraqi state will try to redefine its policy towards cultural heritage. Four pressing and fundamental issues come to the fore: A/ new historic policy (e.g. education of wide circles of Iraqi society – from local leaders, tribal sheiks to children and young people); B/ adjusting the law to requirements of present days (e.g. adaptation of the 2002 Antiquities Law to meet contemporary challenges; accession to the Second Protocol of the Hague Convention); C/ solid reinforcement of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and the Iraqi Archaeological Protection Police.
The most important strategic and long-term goals of preservation and conservation of cultural heritage are: A/ improvement of the state of the natural environment (protection of cultural resources should be an integral part of planning and management at local, provincial and national levels); B/ development of credible national register of cultural property; C/ reconstruction of museum infrastructure.
Among urgent and short-term activities the post-conflict inventory of heritage damage is at the forefront. Of greatest importance are the sites listed on the World Heritage Lists. Each of these places deserves to have a management plan developed for it.
Stabilization of the socio-political situation in Iraq is the only chance for effective protection and preservation of the cultural heritage. The Iraqi state will not cope with the challenges of cultural property recovery by itself. It is necessary to develop and implement a kind of international “Marshal Plan”: an Iraqi cultural heritage recovery program. First, the international community should engage urgently in a long process of study, protection and preservation of the historic places on both UNESCO Lists.
Hatra (Arabic al-Hadhar) is one of Iraq’s least known tourist destinations despite being on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985 and despite the historical, cultural and artistic value that has made it a landmark classical archaeological site in the Middle East.
The relics of the legendary pre-Islamic city are so extensive (324 hectares in size) that they still remain largely unexcavated. It flourished under Parthian political and cultural influence, becoming a magnificent and widely known city. Its wealth accumulated from the long-distance caravan trade linking Mesopotamia and Arabia with Upper Syria and Asia Minor in the 1st through 3rd centuries AD. Hatra is considered to be the best surviving example of Parthian architecture. The unusual fusion of Mesopotamian and Greek arts, the East and the West, produced a strange and subtle art.
At the beginning of the 21st century the ruins of Hatra, just like hundreds of other archaeological sites throughout the country, became practically defenceless against illicit diggers. Mindless devastation at the site peaked in March 2015. At the beginning of April 2015, IS posted a propaganda video entitled “smashing idols” on the internet. The seven-minute footage showed several IS fighters deliberately damaging the sculptured architectural decoration of the southern part of the Great Iwans (iwans 12 and 4). Two partly reconstructed statues as well as Gorgon heads, human faces and statues of eagles set into the walls were devastated using sledgehammers, pickaxes and Kalashnikov rifles and PK machine guns. Guns were used to shoot at a line of statues of eagles and three smaller human faces placed in the South Iwan on the wall high up above a doorway.
Hatra was placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in July 2015. This sprawling Mesopotamian settlement and its intact natural landscape is in an urgent need of preservation and conservation. In order to lay the foundations for a salvage operation, it would be indispensable to prepare a comprehensive Management Plan as was the case recently with regard to the Erbil Citadel (2010) and the Babylon cultural landscape and archaeological site (2015).
The central-southern part of Iraq is a special and invaluable area of Mesopotamian heritage. The Multinational Division Central-South (MND CS) under Polish command operated in five central and southern governorates. It was partially prepared to protect archaeological and architectural treasures of ancient Babylonia and the northern part of Sumer. Since the beginning of the 1990s hundreds of archaeological site have been looted by well-organized and armed groups of robbers. This consistent and methodical plunder could not have been prevented by either the coalition troops entering Iraq or the local antiquity service.
Since October 2003 till 2008, eleven Polish archaeologists were acting within a frame of the Polish Military Contingent in Iraq. They were delegated by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for documentation, intervention and protection of archeological monuments located within the MND CS area of responsibility.
An aerial and ground reconnaissance and salvage recording of the state of preservation archeological heritage encompassed dozens of sites. In November 2004 three archaeologists elaborated a wealthy documented report on that time condition of the central part of the Babylon archaeological site, including historical buildings and monuments. This part was of the site had been used by the military as Camp Alpha (2003-2004). Initial condition assessment of the cultural heritage status in Qadisiyyah governorate was carried out at the beginning of 2005.
The protective barbed wire fences were installed around the most important archeological sites (Tell Uhaimir - Tell Ingharra, Tell Nuffar, Tell es-Sadum). Watchtowers were set at Birs Nimrud. Protective fences were installed around the most important monuments at the Babylon site together with a system of cameras.
The archaeologists co-operated and supported the regional branches of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Babil, Najaf, Qadisiyyah and Wasit governorates (refurbishment of museums and offices; delivery of cars, computer equipment). Every cultural heritage project was consulted and agreed with Iraqi regional authorities responsible for monuments.
Recreated in 2004 the Facility Protection Service (FPS or “Archaeological Police”) was equipped with basic equipment including uniforms, bullet proof vests, helmets, radios, metal detector. Shooting training was also provided by the MND CS staff. The FPS stations were created (building at Tell Nuffar; containers at Birs Nimrud, Tell es-Sadum) or repaired (Babylon).
The archaeologists delivered to the MND CS detachments awareness training on legal issues on protection of cultural heritage and the history of Iraq. Prepared leaflets on Babylon’s monuments were distributed. Military presence at the heart of such priceless ancient settlements like Babylon and Kish influenced heavily their state of preservation.
Foreign activity of the company included complex conservation projects as well as conservation of works of art and artistic handcrafts. Since 1968 until the late 1990s, employees of the PP PKZ carried out several hundred heritage conservation projects in over 30 countries in Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Russia), Africa, Asia and North and Central America. Those projects were of various scales and involved both huge urban complexes, and smaller objects but of highly architectural or historical value. More than 20 tasks were implemented on sites that are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The PP PKZ established 12 research-conservation missions abroad aimed at saving outstanding monuments of world culture heritage. The missions operated in European countries (Belarus, North Macedonia), in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt), Asia (Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam), even reaching to the Caribbean (Cuba). The main idea behind the mission work was cooperation in research, design and conservation work, training both the PP PKZ personnel in specific local conditions, and local specialists.
Strong and permanent ties linked the PP PKZ with the most important foreign organisations (i.a. UNESCO) and conservation centres (i.a. Getty’s Conservation Institute, English Heritage). It was an acknowledgement of its merits in the field of preservation of cultural heritage when the company was admitted as member of the ICOMOS (Paris) and the ICCROM (Rome). The high level of implementation and an ability to co-operate with partners confirm conquered prizes, e.g. Europa Nostra Prize and the Gold Medal at International Conservation Fairs denkmal ’96 in Lipsk.
TIMES OF THE EBLA ARCHIVES (XXIV century BCE): The archives of palace G (Tell Mardikh II B 1 layer) show a fully developed, highly specialized economic center with the capital in Ebla. It controlled an area of about 200 km from north to south and about 100 km from east to west. The texts mention about 800 place names in the area controlled by Ebla. The source of wealth was the cultivation of cereals and flax, animal husbandry and wool processing. The fall of Ebla should be combined with the crisis that caused the disappearance of cultural and linguistic ties connecting Ebla with Mari and the cities of northern Babylonia, known as the "civilization of Kish".
EARLY SYRIAN PERIOD III (ca. 2350-2000 BCE): perhaps the reign of Ishar-Damu, the last ruler of Ebla, ended thanks to Sargon of Akkade, who announced that he ruled Ebla, or his grandson Nara-Sin, who in turn claimed that he had defeated Armanum and destroyed Ebla. At the end of the third millennium B.C. there were no strong political centers in Syria. Urshu, Ebla, Gubla and Qatna on the Homs plain had some economic and commercial significance. There have been changes in the ethnic composition of the population.
The clear ceramic sequence enables relative dating of the cultural sequence common to the regions of Amuq, Tell Mardikh, Ras Shamra and Hama. Ceramic assemblies called caliciform stand out with the mass production of plain and corrugated cups. Its occurrence over the upper Euphrates is interpreted as the influence of the Ebla state. The ceramic horizon of Tell Mardikh II B 1-2 creates a gradually evolving, one cultural unit.
Scanty written sources and difficult to interpret archaeological materials (no full stratigraphy, analyzes, C14 dates and publications) allow only to outline further research directions instead of synthesis:
a) Commonly used "middle" chronology, worse than "short", matches material from Western Syria. There is no correlation between the Akkadian dynasty kings and the Egyptian rulers. A solution is waiting for the correlation of materials from "urban" Syria and "pastoral" Palestine in the late 3rd millennium BCE.
b) The periodization attempts of Western Syria history in the 3rd Millennium BCE are based on the extrapolation of the history of Mesopotamia. They still remain working hypotheses. The only certain relative turning point is the destruction of Palace G at Tell Mardikh.
c) It has still not been proven that archaeological material from Syrian sites should be combined with the expeditions of the kings of Akkade. In the period 2300-2100 BCE no new type of ceramics appeared, but its quality improved.
d) The amount of archaeological materials is increasing (including the Archaic Palace P at Tell Mardikh, or powerful fortifications in Tell es-Sweyhat), proving that the term "dark age" for the late 3rd Millennium BCE results rather from randomness of research and the state of knowledge.
After the Second Gulf War (2003) the Polish government has made an attempt to assist Iraq with protection of archaeological heritage of central south part of the country. The paper deals with fundamental questions of the scope of an archaeologist’s work during an open armed conflict. What kind of strategies should be developed for protection of cultural heritage? How effective can be the activity of a specialist in protection of cultural heritage in such extreme conditions? How to settle the relations with local authorities responsible for monuments? Have the key objectives of the Hague Convention performed well or failed in Iraq?
looted.
Following the Second Gulf War (2003) the Polish government has attempted to assist Iraq. Since November 2003 the Polish Ministry of Culture has been delegating archaeologists for purposes of documentation, intervention and protection of the archaeological monuments located in the central southern part of Iraq, the core land of ancient Babylonia and Sumer. In close cooperation with Iraqi archaeologists, twenty-four projects valued at US$680,000 have been implemented between January 2004 and April 2005, involving aerial and ground reconnaissance and salvage recording of the most threatened archaeological sites. The Polish team has also conducted education and awareness training of the Coalition forces detachments to promote respect for heritage.
Tell Nuffar, covering the remains of the religious capital of ancient Sumer - Nibru and Babylon, the legendary capital of Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar II as well as Alexander the Great, are the most extensive archeological resources of central Iraqi governorates - Al-Qādisiyyah and Babil. Both sites will also be great tourism destinations in the future.
The armed conflict 2003-2005 left its impression differently on both archaeological sites. At Tell Nuffar, robbers marked their presence in a limited way. Babylon, despite the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954), severely experienced the presence of a military base built on the basis of infrastructure harmful to monuments from the time of Saddam Hussein. The “Camp Alpha” operated here for almost a year and a half.
Undoubtedly, the relics of both Babylon and Nibru / Nippur deserve to be on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Both Mesopotamian sites, belonging to the most extensive in Iraq, with high thickness of archaeological strata, have been only partially recognized so far. Currently in Babylon, the main emphasis should be placed on rescue research to document the present state of the entire archaeological site, as well as the implementation of urgent conservation work, primarily on architectural reconstructions. Following the inspection on the site Tell Nuffar requires restoration work of the ziggurat and documentation as well as a rescue examination of parts of the site destroyed by robbers.
Captions for figures
1. Cities of ancient Mesopotamia: ● - historical place names, ▲ - contemporary place names. Computer drawing: A. Okrutniak.
2. Site of Tell Fara, remains of the Sumerian city Shuruppak, badly looted by robbers. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, February 2005.
3. Site of Tell Jokha, remains of the Sumerian city Umma, badly looted by robbers. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, February 2005.
4. Site of Tell Nuffar, ancient Nibru/Nippur, remains of the shrine of Enlil with a ziggurat, or stepped tower surrounded by courtyard seen from a bird’s eye view. March 2005. Author’s archive.
5. Site of Tell Nuffar, monumental relics of a ziggurat, or stepped tower, seen from the north-west. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
6. Site of Tell Nuffar, remains of the North Temple. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
7. Site of Tell Nuffar, looting pits dug by robbers in the western part of the site. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
8. Site of Babylon, the reconstructed „Babylonian House” in the foreground and to the right the reconstructed temple dedicated to the mother-goddess Ninmah. In the background is the former palace of Saddam Hussein. February 2004. Author’s archive.
9. Site of Babylon, the reconstructed Southern Palace seen from a bird’s eye view from the north-west. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
10. Site of Babylon, a fragment of the ruined Northern Palace. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
11. Site of Babylon, reconstructions of the Ishtar of Agade Temple, the Nabu-sha-hari Temple and four Neo-Babylonian houses. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
Photos nos. 1 - 2, 4 - 6 and 8 - 9 come from The Archives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
The Report compiled in November 2004 on the state of the major relics in Babylon at that time, together with documentation of the modern infrastructure erected on the site during the 24-year rule of the late Saddam Hussein.
The use of substantial part of the Babylon archaeological site as a Coalition military base ("Camp Alpha") between April 2003 and December 2004 involved the placement of a major military facility, some 150 hectares in extent, directly on the center of the archaeological site.
The Report was prepared by the three Polish archaeologists (Mirosław Olbryś, Tomasz Burda and Agnieszka Dolatowska) stationed with Multinational Division Central South at Camp Alpha, for the occasion of the return of the site to Iraqi authorities. It reflects the condition of the site on the day of the hand over by the Multinational Forces in Iraq to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.
The Report has 107 text pages and over 1037 photographs and is a kind of conservation inventory. It assesses the condition of all the historical buildings erected on the ancient foundations and monuments located within the boundaries of the Camp Alpha. The document consists of two parts: (I) a catalogue divided into eleven zones established inside the Camp and (II) a second catalogue comprising fifteen historical buildings and monuments also located inside the Camp. Each catalogue item includes textual description and photographs. The part I and the entries of the part II have their own pagination and numbering of photographs.
A separate “Real Estate Inspection Report” on the fifty-two buildings (including the former palace of Saddam Hussein on an enormous artificial earthen hill) built on the site in the 1980s and 1990s was also prepared and joined.
My Son, one of the longest inhabited archaeological sites in Indochina, was largely destroyed during the war in 1969. Only twenty out of seventy-one Hindu tower temples survived in ruins. Of several projects, executed by the Polish-Vietnamese Conservation Mission (1980-1996) headed by the late architect Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, the most important thing was the My Son temple complex. The process of destruction of the monuments was halted. The most indispensable and urgent conservation treatments were executed, salvaging the ancient substance as much as possible.
In 1996, the World Monuments Fund placed it on the World List of Endangered Sites. In 1999 the My Son Sanctuary became Vietnam’s only UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Site and a great tourism destination.
In order to use wisely the potential of the My Son Sanctuary and to protect it in the long run, it is necessary to prepare a comprehensive and a multi-year site management plan. The general as well as specific objectives of this strategic plan are outlined in this paper. The suggested preservation strategies have drawn from Kazimierz Kwiatkowski’s fifteen years of experience in the conservation of this exceptional site. The fundamental principle for all activity should be the conservation of original substance. In the meantime, while the funds necessary for a serious approach to the conservation work on the site are not yet available, the preferred form of activity is preventing further deterioration.
When in 1996 the opportunity arose for a two-month trip to the former Persia, I took advantage of it without much hesitation. The invitation, for advisory and study purposes, of two people from Poland (Dr. Lech Krzyżanowski, an art historian and myself, an archaeologist), was probably an attempt to establish substantive contacts with representatives of the state, perceived in Iran as neutral, and with extensive conservation experience. After all, after 1979, the visits of foreign conservators and archaeologists to the Islamic Republic of Iran almost ceased.
Among the questions that I asked myself before the trip and during my stay in Iran, they were also the most basic. What were the social consequences of the April 1979 revolution of the Shiite clergy? Have these changes been reflected in the areas closest to me, and to what extent, i.e. in archaeology and preservation and conservation of monuments?
The host of the stay was the City Conservation Office, an organizational unit of the Ministry of Construction and Urban Planning. The agreed program of stay (Esfahan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Tehran) was finally modified. We got to know Tepe Sialk thoroughly, probably the richest archaeological site in central Iran. We spent the most time in western Iran, where the most interesting monuments from the point of view of archeology and conservation are located. For the first month our base was Esfahan, which is nicknamed "paradise", according to many, the most beautiful city in Central South Asia. The soul of the city of Esfahan is the river called the Zâyandeh (“life-giving”) Rud with its extraordinary bridges. We visited most of the historical places in the Isfahan province (including Ardistan, Kashan, Nain, Natanz, Zavareh).
We studied the well-preserved architectural remains of the Sassanid period (226-651), important for understanding the Islamic period: still, little known temples of fire (including the "building with four arches" [Pers. chhar taq] in Natanz) and the walls of the citadels in Tarq, Nain and Muhammadiyya built of mud brick.
After a 2-hour flight over the Zagros Mountains, we found ourselves in the Ahwaz province, ancient Elam. Geographically, Khuzestan is an extension of the fertile Mesopotamian Plain. From the 3rd millennium BCE Elamites, Achaemenians and Sasanians all built their royal cities here. The most important day of my stay was a long sunny day when I saw the monumental Chogha Zanbil with the best-preserved Ziggurat in the Middle East, the fascinating Haft Tepe and Susa, the most important city of the Elamite civilization.
Captions for figures
On page 23: Modern towns and archaeological sites in Iran. Computer drawing: L. Kobylińska.
On page 24 (top): The site of Tepe Sialk, the Northern Mound, in the background the South Citadel Mound. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 24 (bottom): The site of Susa, the author on the edge of R. Ghirshman's great stratigraphic trench on a hill called the Royal City. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 27: The site of Nain, remains of the citadel from the Sassanian period. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 28 (top): The site of Chogha Zanbil, the Ziggurat from the Middle Elamite period (13th century BCE). Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 28 (bottom): The site of Haft Tepe, the entrance to the Royal Tomb (mid-2nd Millennium BCE). Photo: Mirosław Olbryś
Archeology has evolved over the course of a century and a half from the hobby of antiquity lovers to the highly respected auxiliary science of history. The last quarter century has brought an acceleration of its maturation: management of sites instead of exploitation. There is a clear tendency to limit excavation work as non-destructive research techniques are definitely developed. The emphasis is on rescue and preservation work. There is a noticeable tendency towards a comprehensive approach to archeology, and material culture is seen as part of a larger context, including the environment, the historical landscape and the sources still in the ground. The archaeological resources cannot be renewed and the excavations cause irreversible changes. There is a noticeable trend to look for the best methods of conservation, stabilization of archaeological sites and preservation of monuments in situ. Less destructive archaeological research is starting to dominate, and the classic excavation method is reduced to a minimum. Telemetry techniques are increasingly used, allowing information to be recorded using a camera, radar or magnetometers. Thanks to the use of high-resolution satellites and scanners, it is now possible to conduct very accurate theoretical field studies.
New discipline is taking root in archaeology – the management of archaeological sites. It was born from the end of World War II on, it developed for good in the 1970s in the U.S., from where it was transferred to Europe. Archaeology as a research discipline extends the definition of its tasks to include the philosophy of managing cultural heritage. It is a systematic and holistic approach when making decisions on research, protection, restoration, development and maintenance of places related to the human past. It is especially important to reconcile the values inscribed in the archaeological site: historical, scientific, aesthetic, economic, cultural, educational, religious and political.
The history of conservation of archaeological sites in Poland dates back to the partitions (19th century). The period after the Second World War brought the development of rescue research and outstanding achievements in the research of historical cities. Since 1978, a nationwide research and conservation program for the Polish Archaeological Record has been carried out. On a par with other categories, archaeological monuments are protected by law. For years, research in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean has brought Polish archeology international prestige. An important signal of changes and appreciation of the rank of archaeological heritage in formal and legal terms was the ratification by Poland of the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage of 1992.
Questions about the ways and limits of human cognition and the ethical responsibility of science are constantly relevant. The discussion of conservation ethics in American archeology began in the 1970s when it was recognized that archaeological testimony was non-renewable and was rapidly disappearing. In Poland, this state is being achieved with difficulty at present. The basis of ethics in archeology is the assumption that every effort should be made to preserve and dispose wisely of the archaeological heritage. It is an urgent task to start a discussion, accept and disseminate by the Scientific Association of Polish Archaeologists a proposal of ethical standards for the conduct of archaeologists. Its implementation will certainly be the right message of the professional community for future archaeologists. The 19th century with its imponderabilia has passed irretrievably, and Erazm Majewski's Ten Archaeological and Prehistoric Commandments in the 21st century may not be enough.
The German Society for Oriental Studies (Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft), established in 1898 in Berlin, conducted research into the most important ancient urban layouts in the Near East: Babylon (1899-1917), Asshur (1902-1913), Hattusas (since 1906) and Akhetaten (since 1911). The desire to take a fresh look at the achievements of the members of the Society (e.g., Habuba Kabira, ca. 3500 B.C. [fig. 1] or Tell Munbaqa - ancient Ekalte, ca. 2600 - 1200 B.C. over the central Euphrates) as well as of scholars from other countries (e.g., Khirbet ed Diniye - ancient Haradum, from 18 - 17 century B.C. [fig. 2]) prompted the authorities of this organization to select urban issues as the theme of the first DOG International Colloquium.
The colloquium was attended by about 150 participants, chiefly from Germany but also from France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, who presented 22 papers, illustrated with slides and plans. The speakers included predominantly archaeologists and philologists but also an architect, a geographer and an ethnologist. More than half of the speeches concerned ancient Mesopotamia where the urbanisation process occurred the earliest.
Problems connected with the town were considered from assorted points of view: town-planning, architecture, history, ideology, religion, etc. The papers will be issued in 1997 in a book that shall inaugurate a new series of the Society. The Halle conference can be considered as another discussion on the problems of early towns, but no means as an ultimate solution of the topic.There appears an increasingly distinct necessity for resorting to the research apparatus of contemporary town planning, i. a. spatial analyses, for the purposes of studying the town planning of the Ancient Near East. The applied terminology should become closer, if not overlap, to the contemporary vocabulary of urban planning.
Oriental towns should be examined minutely not only by archaeologists but also by architects, planners and town planners. Thanks to efficient and competent organization, the event held in Halle provided an excellent occasion for becoming acquainted with the present-day state of research. Another convenient opportunity will be offered by the second Colloquium, dealing with Babylon. It will take place in Berlin in 1998 on the 100th anniversary of the Society.
The article discusses the history of past excavations and describes the achieved results significant for the world history of town-planning and wider comprehended culture. "The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project" was set up with the aim of pro¬tection and ren-dering accessible remains of the most celebrated and largest settlement in ancient Mesopotamia. General principles of conservator's procedure were adopted. The promising realization, commenced in 1978, of an unprecedented and ambitious project to be carried out under Dr. Muayed Sa’id Damerji was slowed down owing to the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). The work itself had not been interrupted, but information about its progress remains scarce.
In 1987 the completion of the first stage of the Project was declared. The excavations intended to make the city lay-out more readable. Especially of value there was unearthing a temple of Nabu at the corner of temenos. There were relatively not many interven¬tions to protect and to strengthen a matter of monuments according to the principles of conser¬vation in the meaning of the Charter of Venice. Most of work carrying out in Babylon it is in fact reconstruction based on original founda¬tions. Materials similar to original ones (bricks, mortar) have been used; also cement has been employed in great quantity.
“The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project” has turned out to be the largest field of activity of archaeologists and architectural conservators all over the World at the end of the XXth century. Until 1994 the objectives of the Project have not been fulfilled after 16 years of implemen¬tation. Practical interventions started without elaboration of technology planned preservation work. Conservation of the whole com¬plex was replaced by reconstruction of sev-eral monuments (the Southern Palace, the temple of Belet-Akkade) while the others were protected in a way that causes doubts (the temple of Nabu). The lay-out of the city was cleared thanks to the uncovering of some new buildings and removing the rubble from the ones known earlier. An especially important matter is a problem of com¬bating with sa¬linity and a high level of water yet nowhere solved on such large scale.
In the opinion of the author, centres of archaeology and archaeological conservation throughout the world should offer their knowledge and experience to the Iraqi scholars who face numerous problems connected with the local climate, size of the area, historical substance material and, in particular, the struggle against salinity, nowhere solved upon such a scale, as well as the hydrogeology of the region.
Monuments of Babylon have not been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List although this is not to say that the site in question is not a fundamental part of the human legacy. It also makes one wonder if the local archaeologists should solve the current conservation problems only themselves.
In 1987 the completion of the first stage of the project was declared. The excavations intended to make the city lay-out more readable. Especially of value there was unearthing a temple of Nabu at the corner of temenos. There were relatively not many interventions to protect and to strengthen a matter of monuments according to the principles of conservation in the meaning of the Charter of Venice. Most of work carrying out in Babylon it is in fact reconstruction based on original foundations. Materials similar to original ones (bricks, mortar) have been used; also cement has been employed in great quantity.
The objectives of the Project of 1978 have not been fulfilled after 16 years of implementation. Conservation of the whole complex was replaced by reconstruction of several monuments (e.g. the Southern Palace, the temple of Belet-Akkade) while the others were protected in a way that causes doubts (the temple of Nabu). The lay-out of the city was cleared thanks to the uncovering of some new buildings and removing the rubble from the ones known earlier. An especially important matter is a problem of combating with a salinity and a high level of water yet nowhere solved on such large scale.
This communiqué descends from my diploma dissertation "The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project (1978-1994) - conservator's reflections" (The Postgraduate Course on Conservation of Urban and Architectural Monuments at the Department of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology, 1995).
The developed scientific and research potential facilitated the establishment of 12 foreign research and conservation missions by the PKZ. Their activities covered European countries (Belarus, North Macedonia), North Africa (Algeria, Egypt), Asia (Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam), reaching the Caribbean (Cuba). They were mixed teams consisting of the PKZ experts and local specialists. The basic idea behind the missions was cooperation in research, design and conservation works, training of the PKZ staff in specific local conditions, exchange of conservation experiences and training of local specialists. The company delegated the best employees to work in missions whose task was to carry out — depending on the type of monument — architectural, archaeological, conservation, anthropological, etc. research, development and preparation of documentation as well as the implementation or supervision of the implementation of conservation measures.
Among the monuments of antiquity, the most important monument preserved by the PKZ team was the temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari (the 15th century BCE), one of the most exposed monuments of Egypt. The mission, created on the initiative of Prof. K. Michałowski, was active in the scientific program of the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw since 1968. The efforts of the Gdańsk Branch team of the PKZ were concentrated in those parts of the temple, the reconstruction of which would restore its original proportions and shape of the facade. The second goal was to build in as many original elements as possible. The reconstruction of the ledge, discovered in 1969, restored the protection of the temple against rock overhangs that threatened to fall.
The team of the Kielce Branch of the PKZ carried out conservation work at the Amir Qurqumas architectural complex in the area of the Necropolis of the Caliphs in Cairo. This mausoleum is considered to be one of the most well-known architectural examples of the Memeluke Period (1250-1517) in Egypt. Members of the mission conducted research, documentation and design works here, and supervised construction works carried out by an Egyptian subcontractor (1972-87).
In the years 1985-87, a mission from the Research and Conservation Branch (Warsaw) of the PKZ conducted in Ashmumein architectural and archaeological research of the relics of the early Christian basilica from the 5th century AD.
In Marina el Alamein, hiding the remains of a Hellenistic city (the 3rd-1st century BCE), a team from the Zamość Branch of the PKZ started in 1987 inventory and reconstruction works of the house, tombstone monument and an underground cistern.
Captions for figures
1. The Amir Qurqumas architectural complex. View from the south-east. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
2. A fragment of the burial chamber in the mausoleum of Amir Qurqumas. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
3. The mosque minaret in the complex of Amir Qurqumas. State before the start of research and conservation works. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
4. The mosque minaret in the complex of Amir Qurqumas. Condition after completion of reconstruction works. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
5. The East liwan in the mosque of the Amir Qurqumas complex. Survey along the walls to uncover fragments of wall decorations. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
6. The East liwan in the mosque of the Amir Qurqumas complex. Final phase of works on the installation of marble panel cladding. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
7. Stonemason at work. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
8. Prof. Tadeusz Dzierżykray-Rogalski during anthropomorphic measurements. In the background, Jerzy Kania — head of the Islamic Architecture Mission. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
9. Control of the correctness of the copper element making the top of the minaret dome. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
10. Control of the accuracy of the installation of the ledge on one of the galleries of the minaret. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
There was a clear tendency in the development of the plan of North Syrian religious buildings in the third millennium BCE. It consisted in gradual enrichment of the plan with additional elements. The oldest buildings, dated around 2750 BCE, (the temple of the 5th and 4th layer below the "Little Antae Temple" of Tell Chuēra (Fig. 1. D) and the temple of Munbaqat (Fig. 4) were erected according to a simple architectural plan. They were characterized by an elongated shape and the location of the entrance on one of the short walls, opposite the podium, serving as an altar. Shrines of the in antis type dated to a slightly later period were excavated at Tell Chuēra (eg. "Little Antae Temple" [Fig. 1.AC], "Northern Temple" [Fig. 9], the temple within the "Outer Building" [Fig. 10]) and at Halawa tell ("A"). The predecessor of "Big Temple D" of Tell Mardikh (dated to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE) had an already developed tripartite plan with a division into cell, antecella and vestibule (Fig. 11).
This group of temples was characterized by: a/ rectangular plan, b/ rigid axiality, c/ no open courtyard, d/ east-west orientation and e/ common construction features. The striking repetition of the essential features makes it possible to discern in these sacred buildings the prototypes of the so-called Syrian temple type. This shape, so typical of northern Syria, is attested in the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE among others at Tell Mardikh, Munbaqat, Tell Fray, Meskene, Tell Ain Dara and Tell Tayinat.
The discovery of centres of supra-regional importance (Tell Chuēra, Tell Mardikh) proves that northern Syria was not a backward area in terms of the degree of civilization achieved in comparison with Mesopotamia or Elam. The foundations of the architectural and artistic tradition of Syria developed during the Early Syrian Period II. Sacred architecture, with a characteristic group of in antis buildings, is one of the highly original features of Syrian art. The appearance of temples erected on the antae plan in the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE, the frequency of using this scheme, up to the Iron Age, proves that it is an original, deeply rooted in the North Syrian tradition, a feature of the culture of this region.
Captions for figures
1. Tell Chuēra. Schematic plan of the "Little Antae Temple". A - layer 1, B - layer 2, C - layer 3, D - layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 17.
2. Tell Chuēra. The "Little Antae Temple" sector plan. Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, plan III.
3. View of the cella of the "Little Antae Temple" from Tell Chuēra. Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 19.
4. Isometric reconstruction of the Munbaqat temple. Layer 4c. According to J. Boese, W. Orthmann, Munbaqat ..., Saarbrücken 1976, Fig. 3.
5. Tell Chuēra. Schematic sketch of the "Little Antae Temple". Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 7.
6. View from the south-east on the "Little Antae Temple". Layer 2. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 6b.
7. Tell Chuēra. Schematic plan of the "Little Antae Temple" sector. Layer 2. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1965, Plan VI.
8. View from the north-east of the "Northern Temple" in Tell Chuēra. According to U. Moortgat-Correns, Die Bildwerke von Djebelet el Beda ..., Berlin – New York 1972, Plate XXXIII.
9. Tell Chuēra. The plan of the "Northern Temple". According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1962, Plan II.
10. Tell Chuēra. The Plan of “The Outer Building” sector. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1960, Fig. 9.
11. Tell Mardikh. The Plan of the “Big Temple D”. According to P. Matthiae, Ebla ..., Turin 1977, Fig. 30
Book Reviews by Mirosław Olbryś
The bilingual publication entitled Poland for World Heritage / La Pologne pour le patrimoine mundiale is a type of a catalogue prepared on the occasion of an exhibition under the same title in 2013. The exhibition presented achievements, experience and potential of Poland in conservation and research of monuments mainly inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The publication presents historical examples of the work of Polish teams in Egypt and Sudan, South America as well as in the Middle and Far East.
Monuments of ancient Mesopotamia are the fundamental part of worlds’ patrimonium. After the Persian Gulf War (1991) Iraq was in political chaos and suffered from economic collapse and ongoing violence. The fate of Iraq’s culture and especially of its archaeological heritage, has been extremely dramatic in the late 20th and early 21st century. Robbery and destruction of monuments have become everyday life. From 2014 to 2017 intentional damaging was part of ISIS strategy. Nowadays the state of cultural heritage is dramatic and catastrophic: conservation works have been discontinued, there is a lack of daily care.
Changes awaiting Iraq after the war with ISIS will put cultural heritage in a new situation. Perhaps the Iraqi state will try to redefine its policy towards cultural heritage. Four pressing and fundamental issues come to the fore: A/ new historic policy (e.g. education of wide circles of Iraqi society – from local leaders, tribal sheiks to children and young people); B/ adjusting the law to requirements of present days (e.g. adaptation of the 2002 Antiquities Law to meet contemporary challenges; accession to the Second Protocol of the Hague Convention); C/ solid reinforcement of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and the Iraqi Archaeological Protection Police.
The most important strategic and long-term goals of preservation and conservation of cultural heritage are: A/ improvement of the state of the natural environment (protection of cultural resources should be an integral part of planning and management at local, provincial and national levels); B/ development of credible national register of cultural property; C/ reconstruction of museum infrastructure.
Among urgent and short-term activities the post-conflict inventory of heritage damage is at the forefront. Of greatest importance are the sites listed on the World Heritage Lists. Each of these places deserves to have a management plan developed for it.
Stabilization of the socio-political situation in Iraq is the only chance for effective protection and preservation of the cultural heritage. The Iraqi state will not cope with the challenges of cultural property recovery by itself. It is necessary to develop and implement a kind of international “Marshal Plan”: an Iraqi cultural heritage recovery program. First, the international community should engage urgently in a long process of study, protection and preservation of the historic places on both UNESCO Lists.
Hatra (Arabic al-Hadhar) is one of Iraq’s least known tourist destinations despite being on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985 and despite the historical, cultural and artistic value that has made it a landmark classical archaeological site in the Middle East.
The relics of the legendary pre-Islamic city are so extensive (324 hectares in size) that they still remain largely unexcavated. It flourished under Parthian political and cultural influence, becoming a magnificent and widely known city. Its wealth accumulated from the long-distance caravan trade linking Mesopotamia and Arabia with Upper Syria and Asia Minor in the 1st through 3rd centuries AD. Hatra is considered to be the best surviving example of Parthian architecture. The unusual fusion of Mesopotamian and Greek arts, the East and the West, produced a strange and subtle art.
At the beginning of the 21st century the ruins of Hatra, just like hundreds of other archaeological sites throughout the country, became practically defenceless against illicit diggers. Mindless devastation at the site peaked in March 2015. At the beginning of April 2015, IS posted a propaganda video entitled “smashing idols” on the internet. The seven-minute footage showed several IS fighters deliberately damaging the sculptured architectural decoration of the southern part of the Great Iwans (iwans 12 and 4). Two partly reconstructed statues as well as Gorgon heads, human faces and statues of eagles set into the walls were devastated using sledgehammers, pickaxes and Kalashnikov rifles and PK machine guns. Guns were used to shoot at a line of statues of eagles and three smaller human faces placed in the South Iwan on the wall high up above a doorway.
Hatra was placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in July 2015. This sprawling Mesopotamian settlement and its intact natural landscape is in an urgent need of preservation and conservation. In order to lay the foundations for a salvage operation, it would be indispensable to prepare a comprehensive Management Plan as was the case recently with regard to the Erbil Citadel (2010) and the Babylon cultural landscape and archaeological site (2015).
The central-southern part of Iraq is a special and invaluable area of Mesopotamian heritage. The Multinational Division Central-South (MND CS) under Polish command operated in five central and southern governorates. It was partially prepared to protect archaeological and architectural treasures of ancient Babylonia and the northern part of Sumer. Since the beginning of the 1990s hundreds of archaeological site have been looted by well-organized and armed groups of robbers. This consistent and methodical plunder could not have been prevented by either the coalition troops entering Iraq or the local antiquity service.
Since October 2003 till 2008, eleven Polish archaeologists were acting within a frame of the Polish Military Contingent in Iraq. They were delegated by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for documentation, intervention and protection of archeological monuments located within the MND CS area of responsibility.
An aerial and ground reconnaissance and salvage recording of the state of preservation archeological heritage encompassed dozens of sites. In November 2004 three archaeologists elaborated a wealthy documented report on that time condition of the central part of the Babylon archaeological site, including historical buildings and monuments. This part was of the site had been used by the military as Camp Alpha (2003-2004). Initial condition assessment of the cultural heritage status in Qadisiyyah governorate was carried out at the beginning of 2005.
The protective barbed wire fences were installed around the most important archeological sites (Tell Uhaimir - Tell Ingharra, Tell Nuffar, Tell es-Sadum). Watchtowers were set at Birs Nimrud. Protective fences were installed around the most important monuments at the Babylon site together with a system of cameras.
The archaeologists co-operated and supported the regional branches of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Babil, Najaf, Qadisiyyah and Wasit governorates (refurbishment of museums and offices; delivery of cars, computer equipment). Every cultural heritage project was consulted and agreed with Iraqi regional authorities responsible for monuments.
Recreated in 2004 the Facility Protection Service (FPS or “Archaeological Police”) was equipped with basic equipment including uniforms, bullet proof vests, helmets, radios, metal detector. Shooting training was also provided by the MND CS staff. The FPS stations were created (building at Tell Nuffar; containers at Birs Nimrud, Tell es-Sadum) or repaired (Babylon).
The archaeologists delivered to the MND CS detachments awareness training on legal issues on protection of cultural heritage and the history of Iraq. Prepared leaflets on Babylon’s monuments were distributed. Military presence at the heart of such priceless ancient settlements like Babylon and Kish influenced heavily their state of preservation.
Foreign activity of the company included complex conservation projects as well as conservation of works of art and artistic handcrafts. Since 1968 until the late 1990s, employees of the PP PKZ carried out several hundred heritage conservation projects in over 30 countries in Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Russia), Africa, Asia and North and Central America. Those projects were of various scales and involved both huge urban complexes, and smaller objects but of highly architectural or historical value. More than 20 tasks were implemented on sites that are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The PP PKZ established 12 research-conservation missions abroad aimed at saving outstanding monuments of world culture heritage. The missions operated in European countries (Belarus, North Macedonia), in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt), Asia (Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam), even reaching to the Caribbean (Cuba). The main idea behind the mission work was cooperation in research, design and conservation work, training both the PP PKZ personnel in specific local conditions, and local specialists.
Strong and permanent ties linked the PP PKZ with the most important foreign organisations (i.a. UNESCO) and conservation centres (i.a. Getty’s Conservation Institute, English Heritage). It was an acknowledgement of its merits in the field of preservation of cultural heritage when the company was admitted as member of the ICOMOS (Paris) and the ICCROM (Rome). The high level of implementation and an ability to co-operate with partners confirm conquered prizes, e.g. Europa Nostra Prize and the Gold Medal at International Conservation Fairs denkmal ’96 in Lipsk.
TIMES OF THE EBLA ARCHIVES (XXIV century BCE): The archives of palace G (Tell Mardikh II B 1 layer) show a fully developed, highly specialized economic center with the capital in Ebla. It controlled an area of about 200 km from north to south and about 100 km from east to west. The texts mention about 800 place names in the area controlled by Ebla. The source of wealth was the cultivation of cereals and flax, animal husbandry and wool processing. The fall of Ebla should be combined with the crisis that caused the disappearance of cultural and linguistic ties connecting Ebla with Mari and the cities of northern Babylonia, known as the "civilization of Kish".
EARLY SYRIAN PERIOD III (ca. 2350-2000 BCE): perhaps the reign of Ishar-Damu, the last ruler of Ebla, ended thanks to Sargon of Akkade, who announced that he ruled Ebla, or his grandson Nara-Sin, who in turn claimed that he had defeated Armanum and destroyed Ebla. At the end of the third millennium B.C. there were no strong political centers in Syria. Urshu, Ebla, Gubla and Qatna on the Homs plain had some economic and commercial significance. There have been changes in the ethnic composition of the population.
The clear ceramic sequence enables relative dating of the cultural sequence common to the regions of Amuq, Tell Mardikh, Ras Shamra and Hama. Ceramic assemblies called caliciform stand out with the mass production of plain and corrugated cups. Its occurrence over the upper Euphrates is interpreted as the influence of the Ebla state. The ceramic horizon of Tell Mardikh II B 1-2 creates a gradually evolving, one cultural unit.
Scanty written sources and difficult to interpret archaeological materials (no full stratigraphy, analyzes, C14 dates and publications) allow only to outline further research directions instead of synthesis:
a) Commonly used "middle" chronology, worse than "short", matches material from Western Syria. There is no correlation between the Akkadian dynasty kings and the Egyptian rulers. A solution is waiting for the correlation of materials from "urban" Syria and "pastoral" Palestine in the late 3rd millennium BCE.
b) The periodization attempts of Western Syria history in the 3rd Millennium BCE are based on the extrapolation of the history of Mesopotamia. They still remain working hypotheses. The only certain relative turning point is the destruction of Palace G at Tell Mardikh.
c) It has still not been proven that archaeological material from Syrian sites should be combined with the expeditions of the kings of Akkade. In the period 2300-2100 BCE no new type of ceramics appeared, but its quality improved.
d) The amount of archaeological materials is increasing (including the Archaic Palace P at Tell Mardikh, or powerful fortifications in Tell es-Sweyhat), proving that the term "dark age" for the late 3rd Millennium BCE results rather from randomness of research and the state of knowledge.
After the Second Gulf War (2003) the Polish government has made an attempt to assist Iraq with protection of archaeological heritage of central south part of the country. The paper deals with fundamental questions of the scope of an archaeologist’s work during an open armed conflict. What kind of strategies should be developed for protection of cultural heritage? How effective can be the activity of a specialist in protection of cultural heritage in such extreme conditions? How to settle the relations with local authorities responsible for monuments? Have the key objectives of the Hague Convention performed well or failed in Iraq?
looted.
Following the Second Gulf War (2003) the Polish government has attempted to assist Iraq. Since November 2003 the Polish Ministry of Culture has been delegating archaeologists for purposes of documentation, intervention and protection of the archaeological monuments located in the central southern part of Iraq, the core land of ancient Babylonia and Sumer. In close cooperation with Iraqi archaeologists, twenty-four projects valued at US$680,000 have been implemented between January 2004 and April 2005, involving aerial and ground reconnaissance and salvage recording of the most threatened archaeological sites. The Polish team has also conducted education and awareness training of the Coalition forces detachments to promote respect for heritage.
Tell Nuffar, covering the remains of the religious capital of ancient Sumer - Nibru and Babylon, the legendary capital of Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar II as well as Alexander the Great, are the most extensive archeological resources of central Iraqi governorates - Al-Qādisiyyah and Babil. Both sites will also be great tourism destinations in the future.
The armed conflict 2003-2005 left its impression differently on both archaeological sites. At Tell Nuffar, robbers marked their presence in a limited way. Babylon, despite the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954), severely experienced the presence of a military base built on the basis of infrastructure harmful to monuments from the time of Saddam Hussein. The “Camp Alpha” operated here for almost a year and a half.
Undoubtedly, the relics of both Babylon and Nibru / Nippur deserve to be on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Both Mesopotamian sites, belonging to the most extensive in Iraq, with high thickness of archaeological strata, have been only partially recognized so far. Currently in Babylon, the main emphasis should be placed on rescue research to document the present state of the entire archaeological site, as well as the implementation of urgent conservation work, primarily on architectural reconstructions. Following the inspection on the site Tell Nuffar requires restoration work of the ziggurat and documentation as well as a rescue examination of parts of the site destroyed by robbers.
Captions for figures
1. Cities of ancient Mesopotamia: ● - historical place names, ▲ - contemporary place names. Computer drawing: A. Okrutniak.
2. Site of Tell Fara, remains of the Sumerian city Shuruppak, badly looted by robbers. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, February 2005.
3. Site of Tell Jokha, remains of the Sumerian city Umma, badly looted by robbers. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, February 2005.
4. Site of Tell Nuffar, ancient Nibru/Nippur, remains of the shrine of Enlil with a ziggurat, or stepped tower surrounded by courtyard seen from a bird’s eye view. March 2005. Author’s archive.
5. Site of Tell Nuffar, monumental relics of a ziggurat, or stepped tower, seen from the north-west. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
6. Site of Tell Nuffar, remains of the North Temple. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
7. Site of Tell Nuffar, looting pits dug by robbers in the western part of the site. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, March 2005.
8. Site of Babylon, the reconstructed „Babylonian House” in the foreground and to the right the reconstructed temple dedicated to the mother-goddess Ninmah. In the background is the former palace of Saddam Hussein. February 2004. Author’s archive.
9. Site of Babylon, the reconstructed Southern Palace seen from a bird’s eye view from the north-west. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
10. Site of Babylon, a fragment of the ruined Northern Palace. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
11. Site of Babylon, reconstructions of the Ishtar of Agade Temple, the Nabu-sha-hari Temple and four Neo-Babylonian houses. Photo: Mirosław Olbryś, April 2005.
Photos nos. 1 - 2, 4 - 6 and 8 - 9 come from The Archives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
The Report compiled in November 2004 on the state of the major relics in Babylon at that time, together with documentation of the modern infrastructure erected on the site during the 24-year rule of the late Saddam Hussein.
The use of substantial part of the Babylon archaeological site as a Coalition military base ("Camp Alpha") between April 2003 and December 2004 involved the placement of a major military facility, some 150 hectares in extent, directly on the center of the archaeological site.
The Report was prepared by the three Polish archaeologists (Mirosław Olbryś, Tomasz Burda and Agnieszka Dolatowska) stationed with Multinational Division Central South at Camp Alpha, for the occasion of the return of the site to Iraqi authorities. It reflects the condition of the site on the day of the hand over by the Multinational Forces in Iraq to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.
The Report has 107 text pages and over 1037 photographs and is a kind of conservation inventory. It assesses the condition of all the historical buildings erected on the ancient foundations and monuments located within the boundaries of the Camp Alpha. The document consists of two parts: (I) a catalogue divided into eleven zones established inside the Camp and (II) a second catalogue comprising fifteen historical buildings and monuments also located inside the Camp. Each catalogue item includes textual description and photographs. The part I and the entries of the part II have their own pagination and numbering of photographs.
A separate “Real Estate Inspection Report” on the fifty-two buildings (including the former palace of Saddam Hussein on an enormous artificial earthen hill) built on the site in the 1980s and 1990s was also prepared and joined.
My Son, one of the longest inhabited archaeological sites in Indochina, was largely destroyed during the war in 1969. Only twenty out of seventy-one Hindu tower temples survived in ruins. Of several projects, executed by the Polish-Vietnamese Conservation Mission (1980-1996) headed by the late architect Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, the most important thing was the My Son temple complex. The process of destruction of the monuments was halted. The most indispensable and urgent conservation treatments were executed, salvaging the ancient substance as much as possible.
In 1996, the World Monuments Fund placed it on the World List of Endangered Sites. In 1999 the My Son Sanctuary became Vietnam’s only UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Site and a great tourism destination.
In order to use wisely the potential of the My Son Sanctuary and to protect it in the long run, it is necessary to prepare a comprehensive and a multi-year site management plan. The general as well as specific objectives of this strategic plan are outlined in this paper. The suggested preservation strategies have drawn from Kazimierz Kwiatkowski’s fifteen years of experience in the conservation of this exceptional site. The fundamental principle for all activity should be the conservation of original substance. In the meantime, while the funds necessary for a serious approach to the conservation work on the site are not yet available, the preferred form of activity is preventing further deterioration.
When in 1996 the opportunity arose for a two-month trip to the former Persia, I took advantage of it without much hesitation. The invitation, for advisory and study purposes, of two people from Poland (Dr. Lech Krzyżanowski, an art historian and myself, an archaeologist), was probably an attempt to establish substantive contacts with representatives of the state, perceived in Iran as neutral, and with extensive conservation experience. After all, after 1979, the visits of foreign conservators and archaeologists to the Islamic Republic of Iran almost ceased.
Among the questions that I asked myself before the trip and during my stay in Iran, they were also the most basic. What were the social consequences of the April 1979 revolution of the Shiite clergy? Have these changes been reflected in the areas closest to me, and to what extent, i.e. in archaeology and preservation and conservation of monuments?
The host of the stay was the City Conservation Office, an organizational unit of the Ministry of Construction and Urban Planning. The agreed program of stay (Esfahan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Tehran) was finally modified. We got to know Tepe Sialk thoroughly, probably the richest archaeological site in central Iran. We spent the most time in western Iran, where the most interesting monuments from the point of view of archeology and conservation are located. For the first month our base was Esfahan, which is nicknamed "paradise", according to many, the most beautiful city in Central South Asia. The soul of the city of Esfahan is the river called the Zâyandeh (“life-giving”) Rud with its extraordinary bridges. We visited most of the historical places in the Isfahan province (including Ardistan, Kashan, Nain, Natanz, Zavareh).
We studied the well-preserved architectural remains of the Sassanid period (226-651), important for understanding the Islamic period: still, little known temples of fire (including the "building with four arches" [Pers. chhar taq] in Natanz) and the walls of the citadels in Tarq, Nain and Muhammadiyya built of mud brick.
After a 2-hour flight over the Zagros Mountains, we found ourselves in the Ahwaz province, ancient Elam. Geographically, Khuzestan is an extension of the fertile Mesopotamian Plain. From the 3rd millennium BCE Elamites, Achaemenians and Sasanians all built their royal cities here. The most important day of my stay was a long sunny day when I saw the monumental Chogha Zanbil with the best-preserved Ziggurat in the Middle East, the fascinating Haft Tepe and Susa, the most important city of the Elamite civilization.
Captions for figures
On page 23: Modern towns and archaeological sites in Iran. Computer drawing: L. Kobylińska.
On page 24 (top): The site of Tepe Sialk, the Northern Mound, in the background the South Citadel Mound. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 24 (bottom): The site of Susa, the author on the edge of R. Ghirshman's great stratigraphic trench on a hill called the Royal City. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 27: The site of Nain, remains of the citadel from the Sassanian period. Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 28 (top): The site of Chogha Zanbil, the Ziggurat from the Middle Elamite period (13th century BCE). Photo: Lech Krzyżanowski.
On page 28 (bottom): The site of Haft Tepe, the entrance to the Royal Tomb (mid-2nd Millennium BCE). Photo: Mirosław Olbryś
Archeology has evolved over the course of a century and a half from the hobby of antiquity lovers to the highly respected auxiliary science of history. The last quarter century has brought an acceleration of its maturation: management of sites instead of exploitation. There is a clear tendency to limit excavation work as non-destructive research techniques are definitely developed. The emphasis is on rescue and preservation work. There is a noticeable tendency towards a comprehensive approach to archeology, and material culture is seen as part of a larger context, including the environment, the historical landscape and the sources still in the ground. The archaeological resources cannot be renewed and the excavations cause irreversible changes. There is a noticeable trend to look for the best methods of conservation, stabilization of archaeological sites and preservation of monuments in situ. Less destructive archaeological research is starting to dominate, and the classic excavation method is reduced to a minimum. Telemetry techniques are increasingly used, allowing information to be recorded using a camera, radar or magnetometers. Thanks to the use of high-resolution satellites and scanners, it is now possible to conduct very accurate theoretical field studies.
New discipline is taking root in archaeology – the management of archaeological sites. It was born from the end of World War II on, it developed for good in the 1970s in the U.S., from where it was transferred to Europe. Archaeology as a research discipline extends the definition of its tasks to include the philosophy of managing cultural heritage. It is a systematic and holistic approach when making decisions on research, protection, restoration, development and maintenance of places related to the human past. It is especially important to reconcile the values inscribed in the archaeological site: historical, scientific, aesthetic, economic, cultural, educational, religious and political.
The history of conservation of archaeological sites in Poland dates back to the partitions (19th century). The period after the Second World War brought the development of rescue research and outstanding achievements in the research of historical cities. Since 1978, a nationwide research and conservation program for the Polish Archaeological Record has been carried out. On a par with other categories, archaeological monuments are protected by law. For years, research in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean has brought Polish archeology international prestige. An important signal of changes and appreciation of the rank of archaeological heritage in formal and legal terms was the ratification by Poland of the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage of 1992.
Questions about the ways and limits of human cognition and the ethical responsibility of science are constantly relevant. The discussion of conservation ethics in American archeology began in the 1970s when it was recognized that archaeological testimony was non-renewable and was rapidly disappearing. In Poland, this state is being achieved with difficulty at present. The basis of ethics in archeology is the assumption that every effort should be made to preserve and dispose wisely of the archaeological heritage. It is an urgent task to start a discussion, accept and disseminate by the Scientific Association of Polish Archaeologists a proposal of ethical standards for the conduct of archaeologists. Its implementation will certainly be the right message of the professional community for future archaeologists. The 19th century with its imponderabilia has passed irretrievably, and Erazm Majewski's Ten Archaeological and Prehistoric Commandments in the 21st century may not be enough.
The German Society for Oriental Studies (Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft), established in 1898 in Berlin, conducted research into the most important ancient urban layouts in the Near East: Babylon (1899-1917), Asshur (1902-1913), Hattusas (since 1906) and Akhetaten (since 1911). The desire to take a fresh look at the achievements of the members of the Society (e.g., Habuba Kabira, ca. 3500 B.C. [fig. 1] or Tell Munbaqa - ancient Ekalte, ca. 2600 - 1200 B.C. over the central Euphrates) as well as of scholars from other countries (e.g., Khirbet ed Diniye - ancient Haradum, from 18 - 17 century B.C. [fig. 2]) prompted the authorities of this organization to select urban issues as the theme of the first DOG International Colloquium.
The colloquium was attended by about 150 participants, chiefly from Germany but also from France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, who presented 22 papers, illustrated with slides and plans. The speakers included predominantly archaeologists and philologists but also an architect, a geographer and an ethnologist. More than half of the speeches concerned ancient Mesopotamia where the urbanisation process occurred the earliest.
Problems connected with the town were considered from assorted points of view: town-planning, architecture, history, ideology, religion, etc. The papers will be issued in 1997 in a book that shall inaugurate a new series of the Society. The Halle conference can be considered as another discussion on the problems of early towns, but no means as an ultimate solution of the topic.There appears an increasingly distinct necessity for resorting to the research apparatus of contemporary town planning, i. a. spatial analyses, for the purposes of studying the town planning of the Ancient Near East. The applied terminology should become closer, if not overlap, to the contemporary vocabulary of urban planning.
Oriental towns should be examined minutely not only by archaeologists but also by architects, planners and town planners. Thanks to efficient and competent organization, the event held in Halle provided an excellent occasion for becoming acquainted with the present-day state of research. Another convenient opportunity will be offered by the second Colloquium, dealing with Babylon. It will take place in Berlin in 1998 on the 100th anniversary of the Society.
The article discusses the history of past excavations and describes the achieved results significant for the world history of town-planning and wider comprehended culture. "The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project" was set up with the aim of pro¬tection and ren-dering accessible remains of the most celebrated and largest settlement in ancient Mesopotamia. General principles of conservator's procedure were adopted. The promising realization, commenced in 1978, of an unprecedented and ambitious project to be carried out under Dr. Muayed Sa’id Damerji was slowed down owing to the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). The work itself had not been interrupted, but information about its progress remains scarce.
In 1987 the completion of the first stage of the Project was declared. The excavations intended to make the city lay-out more readable. Especially of value there was unearthing a temple of Nabu at the corner of temenos. There were relatively not many interven¬tions to protect and to strengthen a matter of monuments according to the principles of conser¬vation in the meaning of the Charter of Venice. Most of work carrying out in Babylon it is in fact reconstruction based on original founda¬tions. Materials similar to original ones (bricks, mortar) have been used; also cement has been employed in great quantity.
“The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project” has turned out to be the largest field of activity of archaeologists and architectural conservators all over the World at the end of the XXth century. Until 1994 the objectives of the Project have not been fulfilled after 16 years of implemen¬tation. Practical interventions started without elaboration of technology planned preservation work. Conservation of the whole com¬plex was replaced by reconstruction of sev-eral monuments (the Southern Palace, the temple of Belet-Akkade) while the others were protected in a way that causes doubts (the temple of Nabu). The lay-out of the city was cleared thanks to the uncovering of some new buildings and removing the rubble from the ones known earlier. An especially important matter is a problem of com¬bating with sa¬linity and a high level of water yet nowhere solved on such large scale.
In the opinion of the author, centres of archaeology and archaeological conservation throughout the world should offer their knowledge and experience to the Iraqi scholars who face numerous problems connected with the local climate, size of the area, historical substance material and, in particular, the struggle against salinity, nowhere solved upon such a scale, as well as the hydrogeology of the region.
Monuments of Babylon have not been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List although this is not to say that the site in question is not a fundamental part of the human legacy. It also makes one wonder if the local archaeologists should solve the current conservation problems only themselves.
In 1987 the completion of the first stage of the project was declared. The excavations intended to make the city lay-out more readable. Especially of value there was unearthing a temple of Nabu at the corner of temenos. There were relatively not many interventions to protect and to strengthen a matter of monuments according to the principles of conservation in the meaning of the Charter of Venice. Most of work carrying out in Babylon it is in fact reconstruction based on original foundations. Materials similar to original ones (bricks, mortar) have been used; also cement has been employed in great quantity.
The objectives of the Project of 1978 have not been fulfilled after 16 years of implementation. Conservation of the whole complex was replaced by reconstruction of several monuments (e.g. the Southern Palace, the temple of Belet-Akkade) while the others were protected in a way that causes doubts (the temple of Nabu). The lay-out of the city was cleared thanks to the uncovering of some new buildings and removing the rubble from the ones known earlier. An especially important matter is a problem of combating with a salinity and a high level of water yet nowhere solved on such large scale.
This communiqué descends from my diploma dissertation "The Archaeological Revival of Babylon Project (1978-1994) - conservator's reflections" (The Postgraduate Course on Conservation of Urban and Architectural Monuments at the Department of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology, 1995).
The developed scientific and research potential facilitated the establishment of 12 foreign research and conservation missions by the PKZ. Their activities covered European countries (Belarus, North Macedonia), North Africa (Algeria, Egypt), Asia (Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam), reaching the Caribbean (Cuba). They were mixed teams consisting of the PKZ experts and local specialists. The basic idea behind the missions was cooperation in research, design and conservation works, training of the PKZ staff in specific local conditions, exchange of conservation experiences and training of local specialists. The company delegated the best employees to work in missions whose task was to carry out — depending on the type of monument — architectural, archaeological, conservation, anthropological, etc. research, development and preparation of documentation as well as the implementation or supervision of the implementation of conservation measures.
Among the monuments of antiquity, the most important monument preserved by the PKZ team was the temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari (the 15th century BCE), one of the most exposed monuments of Egypt. The mission, created on the initiative of Prof. K. Michałowski, was active in the scientific program of the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw since 1968. The efforts of the Gdańsk Branch team of the PKZ were concentrated in those parts of the temple, the reconstruction of which would restore its original proportions and shape of the facade. The second goal was to build in as many original elements as possible. The reconstruction of the ledge, discovered in 1969, restored the protection of the temple against rock overhangs that threatened to fall.
The team of the Kielce Branch of the PKZ carried out conservation work at the Amir Qurqumas architectural complex in the area of the Necropolis of the Caliphs in Cairo. This mausoleum is considered to be one of the most well-known architectural examples of the Memeluke Period (1250-1517) in Egypt. Members of the mission conducted research, documentation and design works here, and supervised construction works carried out by an Egyptian subcontractor (1972-87).
In the years 1985-87, a mission from the Research and Conservation Branch (Warsaw) of the PKZ conducted in Ashmumein architectural and archaeological research of the relics of the early Christian basilica from the 5th century AD.
In Marina el Alamein, hiding the remains of a Hellenistic city (the 3rd-1st century BCE), a team from the Zamość Branch of the PKZ started in 1987 inventory and reconstruction works of the house, tombstone monument and an underground cistern.
Captions for figures
1. The Amir Qurqumas architectural complex. View from the south-east. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
2. A fragment of the burial chamber in the mausoleum of Amir Qurqumas. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
3. The mosque minaret in the complex of Amir Qurqumas. State before the start of research and conservation works. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
4. The mosque minaret in the complex of Amir Qurqumas. Condition after completion of reconstruction works. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
5. The East liwan in the mosque of the Amir Qurqumas complex. Survey along the walls to uncover fragments of wall decorations. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
6. The East liwan in the mosque of the Amir Qurqumas complex. Final phase of works on the installation of marble panel cladding. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
7. Stonemason at work. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
8. Prof. Tadeusz Dzierżykray-Rogalski during anthropomorphic measurements. In the background, Jerzy Kania — head of the Islamic Architecture Mission. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
9. Control of the correctness of the copper element making the top of the minaret dome. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
10. Control of the accuracy of the installation of the ledge on one of the galleries of the minaret. Photo: Stanisław Machała.
There was a clear tendency in the development of the plan of North Syrian religious buildings in the third millennium BCE. It consisted in gradual enrichment of the plan with additional elements. The oldest buildings, dated around 2750 BCE, (the temple of the 5th and 4th layer below the "Little Antae Temple" of Tell Chuēra (Fig. 1. D) and the temple of Munbaqat (Fig. 4) were erected according to a simple architectural plan. They were characterized by an elongated shape and the location of the entrance on one of the short walls, opposite the podium, serving as an altar. Shrines of the in antis type dated to a slightly later period were excavated at Tell Chuēra (eg. "Little Antae Temple" [Fig. 1.AC], "Northern Temple" [Fig. 9], the temple within the "Outer Building" [Fig. 10]) and at Halawa tell ("A"). The predecessor of "Big Temple D" of Tell Mardikh (dated to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE) had an already developed tripartite plan with a division into cell, antecella and vestibule (Fig. 11).
This group of temples was characterized by: a/ rectangular plan, b/ rigid axiality, c/ no open courtyard, d/ east-west orientation and e/ common construction features. The striking repetition of the essential features makes it possible to discern in these sacred buildings the prototypes of the so-called Syrian temple type. This shape, so typical of northern Syria, is attested in the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE among others at Tell Mardikh, Munbaqat, Tell Fray, Meskene, Tell Ain Dara and Tell Tayinat.
The discovery of centres of supra-regional importance (Tell Chuēra, Tell Mardikh) proves that northern Syria was not a backward area in terms of the degree of civilization achieved in comparison with Mesopotamia or Elam. The foundations of the architectural and artistic tradition of Syria developed during the Early Syrian Period II. Sacred architecture, with a characteristic group of in antis buildings, is one of the highly original features of Syrian art. The appearance of temples erected on the antae plan in the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE, the frequency of using this scheme, up to the Iron Age, proves that it is an original, deeply rooted in the North Syrian tradition, a feature of the culture of this region.
Captions for figures
1. Tell Chuēra. Schematic plan of the "Little Antae Temple". A - layer 1, B - layer 2, C - layer 3, D - layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 17.
2. Tell Chuēra. The "Little Antae Temple" sector plan. Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, plan III.
3. View of the cella of the "Little Antae Temple" from Tell Chuēra. Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 19.
4. Isometric reconstruction of the Munbaqat temple. Layer 4c. According to J. Boese, W. Orthmann, Munbaqat ..., Saarbrücken 1976, Fig. 3.
5. Tell Chuēra. Schematic sketch of the "Little Antae Temple". Layer 4. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 7.
6. View from the south-east on the "Little Antae Temple". Layer 2. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Wiesbaden 1967, Fig. 6b.
7. Tell Chuēra. Schematic plan of the "Little Antae Temple" sector. Layer 2. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1965, Plan VI.
8. View from the north-east of the "Northern Temple" in Tell Chuēra. According to U. Moortgat-Correns, Die Bildwerke von Djebelet el Beda ..., Berlin – New York 1972, Plate XXXIII.
9. Tell Chuēra. The plan of the "Northern Temple". According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1962, Plan II.
10. Tell Chuēra. The Plan of “The Outer Building” sector. According to A. Moortgat, Tell Chuēra ..., Köln – Opladen, 1960, Fig. 9.
11. Tell Mardikh. The Plan of the “Big Temple D”. According to P. Matthiae, Ebla ..., Turin 1977, Fig. 30
The bilingual publication entitled Poland for World Heritage / La Pologne pour le patrimoine mundiale is a type of a catalogue prepared on the occasion of an exhibition under the same title in 2013. The exhibition presented achievements, experience and potential of Poland in conservation and research of monuments mainly inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The publication presents historical examples of the work of Polish teams in Egypt and Sudan, South America as well as in the Middle and Far East.
From the beginning the company practised an interdisciplinary approach, i.e. scientific research, artistic conservation and implementation of new technologies. The main scientific and inspiring role was played by the Scientific Conservation Council (1976 – the late 1980s), the members of which secure continuous cooperation with universities and research institutions in this country. Scientific and Research Laboratories as well as Technical Laboratories existed in major regional branches of the PP PKZ (e.g. in Toruń, Warsaw, Wrocław). Among the particular research problems of the laboratories were discovering new methods of conservation and application of new materials. The technological laboratories were carrying out physical and chemical analyses of historical monuments.
The Catalogue under review reflects the narrow field of scientific research conducted under the auspices of the PP PKZ. These research programmes supported the development of conservation practices and were financed by the allotted Fund for Technical Advancement of the PP PKZ, operated during the period 1975-1990. The catalogue is presented in chronological order and comprises:
a/ the results of technological tests and analyses relating to the methods of conserving historic monuments
b/ assessments carried out in preparation for drawing up concrete conservation plans for specific monuments
c/ art historic studies
d/ works on the subject of park and garden complexes
e/ works on methods of protecting and waterproofing stone-brick or wooden constructions.
The chronologically ordered English translations (pages 53-78) contain only the study’s title written in Polish. Some of the titles listed have been simplified for the purpose of practical translation into English. An order number refers to Polish text that includes also the author’s name, number of pages and figures as well as their character, catalogue number and consultant’s surname. At present the studies are deposited in the archives of the National Heritage Board of Poland.