Remote sensing and ground survey of archaeological damage and destruction at Nineveh during the ISIS occupation

Title

Remote sensing and ground survey of archaeological damage and destruction at Nineveh during the ISIS occupation

Creator(s)

Campana, Stefano

Sordini, Matteo

Berlioz, Stefania

Vidale, Massimo

Al-Lyla, Rowaed

Abbo al-Araj, Ammar

Bianchi, Alessandro

Date

2022

Is Part Of

Antiquity

Volume

96

Issue

386

Pages

436-454

Language

eng

DOI

https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.14

Zotero BiDiAr

https://www.zotero.org/groups/5293298/bidiar/items/HAUN3ASE/item-list

Abstract

Armed conflicts frequently result in the damage or destruction of archaeological heritage. The occupation by ISIS of parts of Iraq and Syria is no exception. Here, the authors present the results of work focused on Nineveh, as part of a wider research initiative to monitor damage inflicted by ISIS at archaeological sites in northern Iraq. Combining satellite imagery, low-level aerial photography and ground-based reconnaissance, the project presents a condition assessment of Nineveh, as well as a new topographic map of the city. The results demonstrate that a few high-profile acts of deliberate vandalism were accompanied by much more extensive damage caused by construction and rubbish dumping extending across substantial parts of the site.

cited by

Ground-based photogrammetry at an aerial scale: preliminary results from the 2022 survey at Khirbat al-Mudyana al-‘Aliya, Jordan