Session: #692

Session, made up of a combination of papers, max. 15 minutes each

The last decades have seen increased awareness of the place of cultural heritage as a victim during modern conflicts. Many countries have suffered from damage to historical monuments and archaeological sites, looting of museums and important archaeological sites. This large-scale loss – by resulting from the actions of many different actors - has led both to international outcry and the development of initiatives and programs by governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations.

In addition, as the conflicts have continued, reporting and investigations into this topic have also increased, particularly when ISIS started to profile their destruction of archaeological sites like Palmyra in Syria, and Nimrud in Iraq. Many actions were taken both nationally and internationally to help protect heritage. Unfortunately, these conflicts have demonstrated new challenges that people were - and perhaps still are - unprepared for, and some say that the policies for the protection of cultural heritage have failed.

This session will invite papers that address how and why modern conflicts have affected cultural heritage directly. We seek discussions on: the role of international and local communities; the challenges they face in protecting cultural heritage in these situations; and we want to develop discussions on the needed measures to protect cultural heritage during modern conflicts. This session aims to include not only papers that touch on the situation in the Middle East, but also encompasses a broader range of perspectives to inform a fuller discussion on heritage in conflict, now and in the future.

Cultural heritage, conflicts, destruction, measures

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Isber Sabrine (Spain) ^1,2

Dr Emma Cunliffe (United Kingdom) ^3,4
Dr Juan José Ibáñez (Spain) ¹