WEEKLY REPORT 36
April 13, 2015
U. S. Dept. Cooperation Agreement Number: NEA-PSHSS-14-001
BY Michael D. Danti, Cheikhmous Ali, Tate Paulette, Allison Cuneo, Kathryn Franklin, LeeAnn Barnes Gordon, and David Elitzer
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* This report is based on research conducted by the “Safeguarding the Heritage of the Near East Initiative,” funded by the US Department of State. Monthly reports reflect reporting from a variety of sources and may contain unverified material. As such, they should be treated as preliminary and subject to change.
Executive Summary
On April 11, ISIL released a new video on YouTube showing the performative deliberate destruction of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud in northern Iraq. The city of Nimrud (ancient Kalhu, the Biblical Calah) was a famous capital city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire of the early 1st millennium BCE and was originally located on the Tigris River. The extensive ruin mounds of Nimrud lie southeast of modern Mosul and represent the remains of human occupation spanning the 6th millennium BCE to the Hellenistic era. The Northwest Palace was constructed by the Neo-Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) and was famed for its monumentality and the abundance of elaborately carved bas-reliefs bearing representational scenes as well as other architectural sculptures such as winged-bull colossi. Neo-Assyrian royal women were buried in tombs beneath the palace. Multiple archaeological expeditions have explored the large ruin mound of Nimrud, especially the Northwest Palace, since the mid-19th century CE, and these digs represent key moments in the history of Near Eastern archaeology and Near Eastern studies more generally.
The ISIL video contains speeches by militants attempting to justify this war crime by citing Jihadi- Salafi requirement that Muslims destroy “pagan idols,” as well as diatribes against foreigners/unbelievers (esp. Americans) who link the pre-Islamic past to modern Iraqi identity. The video shows ISIL militants smashing through one of the palace walls using a sledgehammer. Militants then smash bas-reliefs with sledgehammers and vandalize the site. Bas-reliefs are removed from walls and moved using a front-end loader to the north end of the palace where they are dumped in a pile and militants continue to deface the sculptures with jackhammers. The video concludes with militants assembling barrel bombs within the palace, followed by a massive detonation filmed from multiple vantage points. The final scene shows that the palace was completely destroyed. Analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery indicates that ISIL began the destruction of the sculptures in early March. The detonation of the barrel bombs occurred on or after April 1.
Key points from this report:
- ISIL militants destroyed the Northwest Palace at Nimrud, Iraq, and on April 11 released a video showing this performative, deliberate destruction and denouncing connections between the pre-Islamic past and modern Iraqi identity. (pp. 34–52)
- The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria (DGAM) released its Quarterly Report (January 1–March 31, 2015) on heritage damage in Syria.