Had there been archaeological awareness, these historic areas would have been protected despite the dearth of security protection. “This applies not only to Iraq but several Arab countries afflicted by war, such as Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen,” Mohamed Abdel Latif, a professor of Islamic and Coptic monuments at Egypt's Mansoura University, said April 4. He added, “The Arab countries’ civilizations have been devastated by wars and terrorism.”
Stopping illegal excavations, which are the source of smuggled artifacts, is twofold: first is security. Falah Abdul-Karim al-Khafaji, the head of the security committee in Babil province, told Al-Monitor, “The smuggling of artifacts is linked to the security chaos. The more the conditions stabilize, the more the illegal excavations recede. … There is an urgent need for preventive security measures to stop smuggling operations before they occur and to adopt modern, digital monitoring methods at archaeological sites, especially by monitoring via satellite and by supporting villagers near the sites and encouraging them to physically protect the sites.”
The second part of the solution lies in increasing archaeological awareness. Important projects that may help eradicate smuggling operations are on the horizon. On Aug. 12, the UNESCO office in Iraq produced, with the help of Norway, videos that raise awareness about protecting Iraq’s cultural heritage.
In the same context, the “National Campaign to Protect Iraqi Antiquities” was launched by activists and volunteers, calling for coordination with the Foreign Ministry to monitor the sale of Iraqi antiquities in global auctions.
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