British Museum sets up Emergency Heritage Mgt Programme

The scheme cannot stop further acts of cultural destruction but it can equip colleagues with the skills required to conserve and restore where possible and is an attempt to enable colleagues to preserve sites and objects of global significance.

John Whittingdale, Culture Secretary said:

"Civilisations tell their stories through their art, which is why people who are hell-bent on destruction, target it. Removing places and things that have helped to give people a shared sense of history and identity helps to undermine social cohesion and makes reconciliation less likely. Many heritage sites are used for military purposes to shield and conceal soldiers and weapons, and valuable objects are trafficked to finance warmongering. It must be tackled head on."

Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum said:

“We are incredibly grateful to DCMS for their invaluable support on this important programme. This training builds on our collaborations with colleagues in the region and will make a real difference in recording and preserving the cultural heritage currently under threat in Iraq.”

Jonathan Tubb, Keeper of Middle East at the British Museum, said:

“Thanks to DCMS we can at last do more than monitor from afar the relentless assault on Iraq’s cultural heritage. By preparing our Iraqi colleagues for the day when sites are returned to their control, we are confident that they will know how to systematically record what has been destroyed and employ state of the art technology to allow for reconstruction.”

(Source: British Museum)