PRI - Public Radio International - has a podcast on 'The Assault on Syria’s Cultural Heritage' (October 4, 2012) in which Marco Werman talks to Boston archaeologist Michael Danti. Worth a listen, it has a full transcript. The discussion goes on to discuss the political aspects of heritage destruction: Danti: [...] I get the feeling that they all understand the value of having stories in which cultural heritage is a part of the media mix.Mentions of destruction in Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, Palmyra looting, Krak des Chevaliers shelling, etc.
Werman: Right. Explain that.
Danti: Well, going back to the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan in May 2001, the recent rumors in Egypt about the destruction of the pyramids, or the wanton destruction in Mali, I think that a lot of insurgent groups and governments understand that the cultural heritage aspect gets play, particularly in western media, and I think that sometimes it’s a case of the tail wagging the dog a little bit in terms of what’s going on. I think that sometimes, obviously, these sites are purposefully targeted, and there is the psychological warfare dimension of destroying cultural heritage. We see that on both sides of the conflict.
Werman: Are you saying that even having this discussion right now we’re kind of playing into it?
Danti: A little bit, yeah. And that’s one of the difficult things about talking. We really want to make people aware of what’s going on. We want people to know that there’s monitoring going on to try to protect these sites. But at the same time, we feed the problem I think a little bit.
- Tell es-Sweyhat Archeological Project
- Michael D. Danti
- The World: Aleppo Souk Destroyed Amidst Fighting
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