Centuries of history and culture are being lost in Syria and Northern Iraq from looting and deliberate, systematic destruction by the Islamic State and other militant groups and warring factions.
The list of vandalized or destroyed sites reads like a tourist’s Middle Eastern vacation itinerary: Jonah’s Tomb, the Uwais al-Qurani Shrine and the Ammar ibn Yasir Mosque, the Great Umayyad Mosque and other sites all over the ancient city of Aleppo, Dura-Europos, the Sanctuary of Baal, important sites in ancient Palmyra, Krak des Chevaliers near the Syria-Lebanon border and the ancient Syrian Orthodox Church in Tikrit.
What was once scattered plundering by moonlight has evolved into the industrialized rape of history, with dozens of sites added weekly to the losses in Syria’s cultural warfare.
Dr. Andrew G. Vaughn, executive director of the American Schools of Oriental Research and a 1984 graduate of McCallie School, said during a visit to Chattanooga last week that the group’s preservation project — the Syrian Heritage Initiative — aims to identify and document sites of looting and those in danger of being looted.
The project stems from a cooperative agreement between the schools group and the U.S. Department of State.