A Destroyed Past
The scholar of Near Eastern archaeology has had to follow the
deliberate destruction of invaluable cultural treasures in the media.
Treasured archaeological sites are being used as instruments of war
and destroyed for religious and media strategic reasons.
In addition to a massive humanitarian
crisis, the Syrian War has led to
mindless physical destruction. As
everyone can see in the footage ISIS
has published, the ancient Mesopotamian
area, called the cradle of civilization,
has suffered from destruction
and looting. In the late winter,
the terrorists released a video that
shows Mosul museum's artefacts
dating back thousands of years being
smashed to pieces with sledgehammers and drills. In
a more recent shot, parts of the ancient ruin city of
Palmyra are being blown up.
ISIS uses religious reasons to explain the destruction
of archaeological sites, but at the same time it is
a part of a conscious media strategy.
-They justify the destruction on the grounds of
Prophet Muhammad's order to destroy idols. But because
other countries feel that ancient sites are a part
of our common cultural heritage, ISIS wants to show
the Western world that it can do what it wants with
them, says Sanna Aro-Valjus, Docent of Near Eastern
archaeology at the University of Helsinki.
The Western media maintains that videos of
people being beheaded published by the terrorists
will not be shown, but material that shows cultural
treasures being destroyed has been widely available
through different media outlets.
- It is painful to watch these destruction videos,
but me and my colleagues are frequently asked
for expert statements on them, so you can't really
choose whether to watch them or not. The destruction
of historical material may seem secondary compared
to humanitarian suffering, but particularly for
the Syrians and the Iraqis, cultural heritage is an essential
part of identity.
From the point of view of a professional, the
obliteration of well-documented and researched
sites is not a primary concern. These include for
instance the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud,
which was blown up in April, and the colonnaded
street of Palmyra. For archaeologists, a more serious
concern is looting. When structures are destroyed,
important information disappears and it can never
be reconstructed.
People and History Must Be Protected
ISIS is known to sell small artefacts that it has looted
to finance its operations, but also all other Syrian
Civil War parties engage in the illicit trade of antiquities.
We also need to think about the future. The
preservation of ancient sites is very important for the
mental healing of people, and the sites would have
an important role in the process of reconstruction of
Near Eastern societies.
-These antiquities also have economic effects
through tourism. International agreements and UNESCO
are incapable of protecting them. I feel that it
would be important for the international community
to have the right and the resources to send security
troops to protect antiquities. But as we saw with the
Iraq War in 2003, the leaders of the occupying country
USA were also not convicted for the looting of the
museum in Baghdad. Despite the fact that according
to agreements it was their responsibility to secure it
and their failure to secure it was a gross war crime,
Aro-Valjus emphasizes.
Situations change fast. When we talked in June,
Aro-Valjus noted that the magnificent city of Palmyra
had long been suspected to be destroyed. According
to information available at the time, ISIS had
planted mines in the historic part of the city. The researcher reckoned that ISIS would first focus on
establishing its position and would only begin destruction
after that. At the end of August, the situation
had progressed to this point and the terrorists
were said to have blown up for instance a significant
temple in Palmyra.
News of the murder of Palmyran archaeologist
Khaled al-Asaad (1932-2015) was particularly
shocking. The retired museum director had refused
to flee his home town, which had been occupied by
ISIS, and to leave it in the hands of barbarians.
- I met al-Asaad a few times in July 2000 in his
office at the Palmyra Archaeological Museum. So I
didn't know him well, but I particularly remember
his friendliness and helpfulness. It is deeply touching
when someone you have personally met, someone
you have had a glass of tea with and with whom
you have talked about interesting issues, dies in
such a horrific way. He rebelled against ISIS's misrule
and it cost him his life, Aro-Valjus sighs.
At the latest after this, concern for other colleagues
living in areas occupied by ISIS has grown.
A Second-Generation Assyriologist
Docent Sanna Aro-Valjus ended up in her field
through a variety of different stages. His father, Jussi
Aro, was a professor of Semitic Languages who had
begun his researcher career in the field of Assyriology.
- So I don't remember a time when I wouldn't
have known what cuneiform is, Aro-Valjus laughs.
- After I had spent a year studying Classical Philology
at the University of Helsinki I left to go study in
Tübingen, Germany. In Tübingen I became interested
in a field called Altorientalistik, which combines Assyriological
philology and Near Eastern archaeology.
I did a second major in it. I would have been a prime
example of brain drain, but Villa Lante, the Finnish Institute
in Rome, brought me together with my current
spouse. I came back to Finland to get married. I brought
with me such knowledge of studying Near Eastern material
culture that didn't yet exist in Helsinki.
Aro-Valjus does research by participating in archaeological
excavations, but lately she has done more
research in museums, libraries and in her study at
home. Her research always integrates textual data with
other sources, and the approach moves the research
forward better than processing just one type of data.
- I still think that it is extremely essential to visit
the area's archaeological sites and preferably at a time
when colleagues are there to excavate. So I take to the
cities, villages, ruins and to the country, and communication
with both colleagues and local people is
important. Moreover, leading student excursions is
rewarding from a research point of view.
The importance of Assyriology has grown significantly
in the world because of the Near Eastern crises.
By investing in Assyriology, the University of Helsinki
could still profile itself in this field, particularly when
a new generation of leading Assyriologists is growing
up in Germany and in Helsinki.
Aro-Valjus last travelled to Syria in the autumn of
2010. The trip concluded an intensive period of ten
years during which she travelled there often both in
her position as the Executive Officer of the Foundation
of the Finnish Institute in the Middle East, and
as a researcher. Over the past years she has, slightly
defying the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' travel recommendations,
visited excavations on the Turkish side
of the border area.
-At the moment I am preparing a book on Late
Hittite statues of gods and rulers, and I am using precisely
the aforementioned ways of collecting material.
In the Near East, I carefully go through the backyards
of archaeological museums and gardens, because
there might be an unpublished statue fragment hidden
in the farthest corner. The joy of the finder is at
its greatest at moments like that. Research is more a
way of life than work for me. I am just about to leave
for a birthday trip to the Hatay province which is on
the Turkish side. I am not afraid, however, because I
know the environment.
Sanna Aro-Valjus
- born in 1965
- Docent of Near Eastern
Archaeology,
University of Helsinki 2009
- PhD, Assyriology, University of
Helsinki 1998
- Magister Artium, Classical
Archaeology, Ebehard-Karls-
Universität Tübingen 1992
- Board Member of the Finnish
Institute in the Middle East
1999-2002; 2006-2015
- Executive Officer, Foundation
of the Finnish Institute in the
Middle East 2002-2006
- Board Member of The Foundation
for Finnish Assyriological
Research since 2011
Text Arja-Leena Paavola
- Painetussa lehdessä sivu 22
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