It has been reported that the militant Sunni Islamists who seized parts of northern Iraq last week, have now destroyed symbols of Iraq’s heritage in the city of Mosul, including statues of cultural icons and the tomb of a medieval philosopher. Witnesses have reported that militants have destroyed a statue of Othman al-Mousuli, a 19th Century Iraqi musician and composer, and the statue of Abu Tammam, an Abbasid-era Arab poet.

The tomb of Ibn al-Athir, an Arab philosopher who traveled with the army of warrior sultan Salahuddin in the 12th century was desecrated after militants took the city. Witnesses said the domed shrine had been razed and a park around it dug up. The militants, whose strict Salafi interpretation of Islam deems the veneration of tombs to be idolatrous, have destroyed several tombs and mosques inside Syria and now in neighboring Iraq where they have seized towns and cities.

A team of an Italian Archaeological Mission, have uncovered the remains of an epidemic in Egypt. While working at the Funerary Complex of Harwa and Akhimenru in the ancient city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor) in Egypt, the team found bodies covered with a thick layer of lime, which was historically used as a disinfectant. The researchers also found three kilns where the lime was produced, as well as a giant bonfire containing human remains, where many of the plague victims were incinerated.

The funerary complex of Harwa and Akhimenru, located on the west bank of the ancient city of Thebes is one of the largest private burial monuments in Egypt. Built in the seventh century B.C. for a grand steward named Harwa, it was used continuously for burial after his death. And now, the team of Italian archaeologists have reported discovering the cremated remains of a number of victims of the “Plague of Cyprian” at a funerary complex.

It has been reported according to LiveScience that Cyprian left a gut-wrenching record of what the victims suffered before they died. “The bowels, relaxed into a constant flux, discharge the bodily strength [and] a fire originated in the marrow ferments into wounds of the fauces (an area of the mouth),” he wrote. Modern-day scientists have speculated that the disease may have been a virulent case of smallpox or measles. The plague killed two emperors — Hostilian and Claudius II Gothicus —and weakened the Roman Empire.

Earlier this spring, WCHV learned that UNESCO has proposed to Tanzania that the area around Ol Doinyo Lengai, one of Tanzania’s active volcanoes and the country’s third highest mountain, be turned into a World Heritage Site. Ol Doinyo Lengai represents exceptional scenic and natural beauty of the country.

Tanzania is currently home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites but a few years ago, the country withdrew an application for the recognition of the EasternArcMountains to actually pave the way for logging and mining in the ecologically sensitive water tower area of the sprawling East African country. Many questions regarding the circumstances surrounding the decision were asked. About the same time, many issues arose over plans to construct a highway across the main migration routes of the great herds in the Serengeti. In addition, plans to mine for uranium mining in the Selous Game Reserve, which is another prized World Heritage Site and the intended construction of a hydroelectric dam at Stiegler’s Gorge, have created major disagreements between Tanzania and the UNESCO over handling of cultural sites by the country.

The World Heritage Committee will consider the inscription of 40 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List when it meets in Doha (Qatar) from 15 to 25 June under the chair of Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.

For more information:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1130

The Louvre Museum is the world’s most visited museum, attracting up to 10 million visitors annually and it used to be just one in the world until the United Arab Emirates agreed to pay 400-million-euros ($553 million) over 30 years to house a branch in Abu Dhabi in a deal signed with the French government in 2007 according to Reuters.

Abu Dhabi hopes to eventually lure tourists to its own branch of the Louvre museum, once the doors are open to the public in December 2015. However, some of its treasures have gone on display at the Louvre in Paris until July 28, 2014.

“Birth of a Museum: Louvre Abu Dhabi” is a presentation of works from across the globe, which will eventually be part of the Abu Dhabi museum’s permanent collection which has been built up with the help of advisers from the Paris Louvre. These items include a gold bracelet decorated with lion heads crafted in Iran nearly 3,000 years ago, a Virgin and child painting by Giovanni Bellini and paintings by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

The museum which was designed by architect Jean Nouvel is a 64,000-square-meter (690,000-square-feet) structure, and one of three museums planned on an island near the center of Abu Dhabi.

The plans to open a Gulf branch of the Louvre originally sparked major concerns in France. However, such worries were brushed aside by the French government.

UAE is France’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, and Abu Dhabi also hosts France’s only military and naval base outside of Africa, and the only French-speaking university in the Gulf, a campus of Paris’s Sorbonne University. In 2010, the UAE also invested over 2 billion euros into France primarily in real estate acquisitions. The Louvre agreement includes sharing expertise in the acquisition of works of art and curatorship, as well as training and apprenticeships for future Emirati curators.

A Chinese replica of the iconic Sphinx will be dismantled and demolished after an Egyptian ministry complained about the structure as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald and other news outlets. The massive copy of the ancient statue in the northern province of Hebei has drawn a lot of criticisms from the Egypt’s ministry of antiquities which has complained to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) about the imitation.

China has been known for copying Western goods ranging from running shoes to champagne, and also building up its replica reputation with a miniature Mount Rushmore, an Eiffel Tower and an entire Austrian village. In the case of sphinx replica, the officials of cultural park on the outskirts of the provincial capital Shijiazhuang have stated that the imitation has always meant to serve only as a temporary scene for shooting movies and television dramas and that they are very respectful to world cultural heritage and express our apologies for any misunderstanding.

It has been reported that the film reported by the Chinese was supported by an entertainment conglomerate based in southern China’s Hangzhou. The movie features a range of worldwide cultural heritages.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities called on UNESCO to implement the convention it signed in 1972 concerning the protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage. The 1972 UNESCO convention states that the right of identification, presentation and transmission of monuments to the future generation belongs only to the state that owns them. It emphasizes the importance of safeguarding and protecting unique monuments, as they are considered irreplaceable property to the people.

For the last two months the verbal battles over Crimea’s cultural heritage have been going on with no end in sight. Crimea’s heritage sites are many including the 16th-century Tatar Khans’ palace in Bakhchisaray to the former tsarist residence that hosted the World War Two Yalta conference. These sites and artifacts which have witnessed extraordinary times in history are once again in the midst of conflict and contention and this time they are the subject (of contentions).

For now Kiev has prepared itself for a long legal battle, as Ukraine does not recognize Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, and has considered Moscow’s presence in Crimea an illegal occupation. However, losing the cultural and historic legacy of the Black Sea peninsula is another major blow.

As reported by Reuters, Ukraine’s Culture Minister, Yevgen Nishchuk, said, Kiev was amending its laws to seek justice internationally should Russia start removing cultural goods from Crimea or take over formal supervision of the region’s heritage sites. One of the major concerns is an exhibition, which was put together by five museums including four in Crimea. The items which are currently on display in Amsterdam are now the subject of debate and contention as both Crimea’s pro-Russian authorities as well as Kiev claim ownership of the exhibition, titled “Crimea – Gold and secrets of the Black Sea”, which features golden artifacts and precious gems dating back to the fourth century BC.

The show which has been operated by the University of Amsterdam started in February 2014 and is supposed to end in August 2014 (however, the museum’s websites states June 2014 as the end date). The Allard Pierson Museum at the University of Amsterdam has stated that a legal investigation has started to determine to whom the collection should be returned after it closes.

Earlier this year (March 2014), Ukraine appealed to UNESCO  to protect cultural heritage sites in Crimea. In a statement by Ukraine’s Minister of Culture Yevhen Nyshchuk, he expressed concerns and stated that: “On the territory of Crimea is the Khersones Tavriysky (Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese), which is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and which belongs to the Ukrainian state. We have been given the mission to protect it. However, since we no longer have physical access to the site in order to protect all the rarities and exhibits located there, which are priceless not only for Ukraine but also for the entire world, we appeal to UNESCO to help us”. According to Ukraine government, Ukrainian scientists have lost all access to cultural sites after the military occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Chersonese became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.

Mr. Houshang Seyhoun (b. August 22, 1920 in Tehran, Iran to May 26, 2014 in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada) has passed away in exile. He was an Iranian architect, sculptor, painter and professor. He studied fine arts at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and earned a degree in architecture from University of Tehran.  Mr. Seyhoon became famous for his design work in the 1950s in Iran including Tehran’s Central Railway Station and tombs of scientific, literary and historical figures.

Examples of some of his work.

It has been reported as published by the Washington Post (and the Denver Post), that the government of Egypt sees the fight against the illegal sales of antiquities and looting a major national emergency.

In March, Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, Egypt’s minister of state for antiquities was in WashingtonDC talking with Obama administration. He stated that the looting worries the experts. “The objects that are stolen from museums are easier to track because they are registered,” Ibrahim said, referring to the archaeological artifacts taken from Egypt’s MalawiNationalMuseum and EgyptianMuseum in Cairo, many of which have been identified and returned. However, a bigger problem now has become the illicit digging everywhere spanning acres of land, which is also the work of sophisticated traffickers.

As we have discussed here at WCHV, looting isn’t a new phenomenon, but as countries face conflict, looting adds to many more problems that the country face. Today, more than three years since the Egyptian revolution, looting antiquities is a major concern for a country that is so dependent on tourism. In the last decade, many factors including higher antiquities prices and easier transport across the world has made looting a profitable option for many smugglers and thieves.