Members of ISIS recently took sledgehammers and other tools to ancient artifacts across Iraq not to preserve them-but to destroy them. Colonial Williamsburg is now offering to keep some of the vulnerable artifacts safe until the threat is gone.
The video taken by ISIS showing the destruction of statues and other pieces breaks my heart. History is so important to me and I’m sure many of you reading this right now. Our president and CEO, Mitchell Reiss, agrees as well. His offer of safekeeping came during a meeting with a team of Iraqi archaeologists, historians, and museum experts.
“The Iraqi people once suffered at the hands of despots,” Dr. Reiss said. “They continue to suffer at the hands of terrorists. If we can join with them in an effort to protect these antiquities, we can protect Iraq and the world’s collective DNA until these clouds of divisiveness and chaos pass.”
A memorandum of understanding (a legal term for an agreement between two or more parties) was created as CW offered to work with the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and other Iraqi organizations.
“Our pledge is to work with Iraq’s dedicated archaeological and antiquities professionals to identify specific artifacts that can benefit from Colonial Williamsburg’s conservation and preservation expertise. We will accept all the artifacts that our Division of Collections, Conservation and Museums can handle.”
I sat down with Ron Hurst, VP of Collections, Conservation and Museums, to talk about the agreement and the role our museums will have. He doesn’t want to see the video of the destruction.
“Artifacts of cultural significance are finite, non-renewable resources,” he said. “When they’re gone, they’re gone. And everything they could ever teach you either in today’s standards or in the future when science allows us to ask questions we would never dream of today is forever erased.”
Ron is passionate about artifacts and knows how important they are to educate the masses. Our museum staff is very skilled and includes an internationally-recognized expert of conservation with deep experience in Middle Eastern archaeology. Ron said we’re well-positioned to take on this project.
Once the Iraqi groups identify which pieces they want us to take, our staff will determine if it’s possible. Some of the items could be ceramics, textiles, wooden objects or metals. The approved items will then be packaged and transported to the U.S. for safekeeping.
While we will keep the items safe, there are no plans to display them.
Here’s hoping other institutions will make the same kind of offer.
The above photos were obtained from USA Today.
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