Archaeologists in the frontline
Professor Peter Stone, member of the UK National Commission for UNESCO (UKNC) Culture Committee and professor in Heritage Studies at Newcastle University, featured on yesterday’s BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, discussing the ethics of archaeology with Dr Yannis Hamilakis of Southampton University.
Listen to a replay of the programme on the BBC website here.
In the programme, Professor Stone emphasised the urgent need for embedding of cultural property protection and awareness training for military personnel at all levels to avoid a repeat of what happened in Iraq during the war and subsequent occupation in 2003.
Professor Stone has led the UK National Commission’s work to encourage the UK Government to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols of 1954 and 1999. The Hague Convention is the principal international instrument concerning the protection of cultural property during armed conflict and military occupation.
The UK is arguably the most significant military power (and the only one with extensive military involvements abroad) not to have ratified the 1954 Hague Convention.
The UKNC has also helped raise awareness about what happened in Iraq through sponsoring the travelling exhibition Catastrophe - the Looting and Destruction of Iraq's Past and the book The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Iraq.
Professor Stone advised the UK Ministry of Defence on protection of archaeological sites in Iraq in the run up to the war in 2003. Despite his efforts and numerous warnings from UK cultural organisations, coalition forces failed to protect Iraq’s cultural heritage leading to widespread destruction and looting. Professor Stone is currently working on a book addressing the ethical challenges facing archaeologist working with militaries.
Written: 22/04/2010 , last modified: 22/04/2010
