Iraq's Hatra retaken from IS militants, but still vulnerable
The liberation of the ancient city of Hatra from the Islamic State is only a small first step toward protecting its ancient treasures.
Iraq is assessing the rehabilitation needs of the ancient city of Hatra, near Mosul in the country’s north, after retaking it from the Islamic State (IS) on April 26. The jihadist group had occupied the site since 2014 and in March 2015 bulldozed some of the ruins, which date back to the second century and include ancient architecture and other priceless antiquities.
At one point, members of the group appeared in a video using sledgehammers to destroy antiquities, sparking fears that a priceless piece of human heritage, included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1985, would be lost forever.
But the head of Nineveh province’s archaeology department, Faleh Al-Shammari, said initial surveys by Iraqi archaeologists in early May show less damage than expected, affecting about 30% of the city. “Many landmarks were damaged only slightly, especially large and heavy ones,” he said.
Shammari said IS fighters looted every small artifact that could be moved, including gold and silver coins and Assyrian statues. However, he said, “The remains that were stolen are small compared to the great number of artifacts that were taken to Baghdad in 2000, before the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, and were never returned because of the deteriorating security situation. That minimized the losses that happened during the Daesh occupation of the site,” he added, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
