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ABSTRACT
The protection, destruction, utilization and manipulation of cultural property and material heritage, especially archaeological sites and artifacts, by state and non-state actors has become commonplace in contemporary small wars and hybrid conflicts. The U.S. and its western allies have taken a limited and largely legalistic and limited approach to this development in contemporary warfare to the advantage of adversaries who have made control of the past a key part of their strategies and operations. This paper traces the role of cultural heritage in small warfare from ancient times through its contemporary re-emergence and what the implications are for future small wars.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. McGirk, “Syrians Race to Save Treasures.”
2. Shakov, “Putin Blames U.S.”
3. Westfall, “Syrian Insurgent Advances.”
4. See note 1 above.
5. Ibid.
6. Alshami, “Between Bombs.”
7. Melvin, “ISIS Beheads.”
8. Katz, “Ancient City Damaged.”
9. “Syrian Troops Looting.”
10. Contact Reporter, “Russians Building Base.”
11. Rosenberg, “Gergiev Conducts Concert.”
12. Cascone, “Nearly Destroyed by ISIS.”
13. Gerstenblith, “Archaeology in Context of War,” 19.
14. Williams, Archaeology of Roman Surveillance.
15. See note 13 above.
16. Brandfon, “Arch of Titus.”
17. “The Romans Destroy Temple.”
18. See note 16 above.
19. Ibid.
20. Bellisari, Raiders of the Lost Past, xi.
21. Rid, “Nineteenth Century Origins,” 727.
22. Gates, Counterinsurgency.
23. Bellisari, Raiders of the Lost Past.
24. Ibid.
25. Brysac, 54.
26. Chadha, “Visions of Discipline,” 378.
27. Evans, “Soldiering Archaeology,” 2.
28. Ibid.
29. Evans, “Soldiering Archaeology.”
30. Bowden, Life and Work.
31. See note 29 above.
32. Ibid.
33. Monuments Men Foundation, “Sir Mortimer Wheeler”.
34. Shapland, “British Salonika Force,” 88.
35. “Palestine Exploration Fund”.
36. Mohs, Military Intelligence, 172.
37. Desplatt, “Digging for Country”.
38. Bellisari, Raiders of the Lost Past, 126.
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid., 100.
41. Ibid., 125–6.
42. Ibid., 113.
43. Ibid.
44. Franz, “Archaeology and Great Game”.
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid.
47. Meyer and Brysac, Tournament of Shadows, 351–2.
48. “Charles Masson”.
49. Meyer and Brysac, Tournament of Shadows, 346, 349, 358, 376.
50. Ibid., 352.
51. Ibid., 376.
52. Brysac, “Last of Foreign Devils,” 53.
53. Ibid.
54. Popova, Russian Explorations, 106.
55. Ibid, 110.
56. Ibid., 111–112.
57. Meyer and Brysac, Tournament of Shadows, 271.
58. Ibid., 217.
59. Popova, Russian Explorations, 114.
60. Stewart, “Queen of Quagmire,” 12.
61. Sheppard, “Not all Spies”.
62. Anderson, Lawrence in Arabia, 30, 36–9.
63. Harris and Sandler, Archaeologist was a Spy, xiii.
64. Ibid., 295–300.
65. Allen, Classical Spies.
66. The story of Luis Dupree and his wife Nancy in many ways encapsulates the arch of this paper’s subject matter. During the Cold War Louis was suspected by many to be a U.S. spy and he later served with the mujahedeen in Pakistan during the war against the Soviets, Nancy an Afghan expert in own right became heavily engaged in preserving Afghan culture and restoring the National Museum after the Taliban’s fall. See https://magazine.atavist.com/loveandruin for their story.
67. Allen, Classical Spies and Martin, American Geography.
68. Gerstenblith, “Archaeology in Context of War,” 21.
69. Ibid.
70. Edsel, 422.
71. Joyce, “Politics and Archaeology”.
72. Lewis, “Chinese Civilization”.
73. Price, Anthropology and Militarism.
74. Pollock, “Archaeology and War,” 223.
75. Jasparro, “Case for Cultural Heritage Protection,” 92.
76. Nuhefendic, “Mostar.”
77. Jasparro, “Case for Cultural Heritage Protection,” 93.
78. Jasparro, “Human Security,” 9.
79. Semple, “Why Buddhas Destroyed.”
80. Jasparro, “Case for Cultural Heritage Protection,” 99.
81. Ibid., 100.
82. Ibid.
83. Ibid.
84. Ibid.
85. Bolger cited in Jasparro, “Case for Cultural Heritage Protection,” 101.
86. Lawler, “War Savages Sites.”
87. See note 71 above.
88. Aridici, “How Putin Russian.”
89. Campbell, “Shipwrecks to War.”
90. Ibid.
91. Feldschreiber, “Putin Takes Submarine.”
92. Johnson, “China’s Memory.”
93. Erickson and Bond, “Archaeology and South China Sea.”
94. Henderson, Chinese Underwater Archaeology.
95. See note 93 above.
96. Campbell, “Illicit Antiquities Trade”,113.
97. Howard, Elliot, and Prohow, IS and Cultural Genocide, 3.
98. Wendle, “Whose Stealing.”
99. Rothfield, Antiquities under Siege, 6.
100. Ibid.
101. Drennan, Black-Market Battleground.
102. Howard, Elliot, and Prohow, IS and Cultural Genocide, 2.
103. Fadel, “Robbing Them.”
104. Byrne, Counterheritage, 148–150.
105. Jasparro, “Human Security,” 10.
106. Jasparro, 107.
107. Winter, Post-conflict Heritage, 21.
108. Legendre de Koninck, “Reviving Angkor Wat.”
109. Southern, “The Future of Cambodia.”
110. Spiess, “Ticket Revenue at Angkor.”
111. Candelaria, “Angkor Sites,” 254.
112. Kila, “Military Cultural Experts,” 203.
113. Mekellide, “Recovery and Identification,” 30.
114. Jones, “The Secrets.”
115. Ibid.
116. Koff, Bone Woman, 7–8.
117. Mekellide, “Recovery and Identification,” 34.
118. White and Livoti, “Preserving Cultural Heritage,” 203.
119. Dyhouse, “We find Bones,” 14–8.
120. Op Nightingale Heritage, About.
121. Brady, Veterans Turning to Archaeology.
122. Scott and McFeaters, “Archaeology of Battlefields,” 116.
123. Conlin and Russel, “Archaeology of a Naval Battlefield,” 21.
124. For balanced reviews of this debate and challenges to practice of forensic archaeology in war see: Steele, “Archaeology and Forensic Investigation” and Ferllini, “Forensic Archaeology”.
125. Stone, Cultural Heritage Ethics, 6.
126. Bernback quote in Stone, Cultural Heritage Ethics, 7.
127. Rush, Military Archaeology, 145.
128. Ibid.
129. Office of Spokesperson, State Announces New Initiatives.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Christopher Jasparro
Dr. Christopher Jasparro is an applied geographer and field archaeologist specializing in transnational and environmental security issues and cultural property protection.