Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is an island city from the Sassanid era with a complex irrigation system. Located in Khuzestan Province, the site was registered on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 2009, as Iran’s 10th cultural heritage site to be registered on the United Nation’s list.
Shushtar, Historical Hydraulic System, inscribed as a masterpiece of creative genius, can be traced back to Darius the Great in the 5th century B.C. It involved the creation of two main diversion canals on the river Kârun one of which, Gargar canal, is still in use providing water to the city of Shushtar via a series of tunnels that supply water to mills. It forms a spectacular cliff from which water cascades into a downstream basin. It then enters the plain situated south of the city where it has enabled the planting of orchards and farming over an area of 40,000 ha. known as Mianâb (Paradise) [Credit: Mostafa Gholamnejad/ Tasnim News Agency]
The site dates back to the time of the Achaemenid king Darius the Great in the 5th century BCE. It involves two main diversion canals on the Karun River, one of which, Gargar canal, is still in use providing water to the city of Shushtar via a series of tunnels that supply water to mills.
The property has an ensemble of remarkable sites including the Salâsel Castel, the operation centre of the entire hydraulic system, the tower where the water level is measured, damns, bridges, basins and mills. It bears witness to the know-how of the Elamites and Mesopotamians as well as more recent Nabatean expertise and Roman building influence [Credit: Mostafa Gholamnejad/Tasnim News Agency]
The system forms a cliff from which water cascades into a downstream basin and enters south of the city enabling people in Shushtar to plant orchards and create farms over an area of 40,000 hectares.
A court in Belgium has ruled that the country’s authorities restitute nine boxes of smuggled ancient Iranian artifacts along with a bronze pin stolen from an exhibition.This file photo shows 2,700-year-old Persian silver drinking cup Shir Dal [Credit: PressTV]
An informed source at the Center of International Legal Affairs in Iran’s Presidential Office said on Tuesday that an appellate court in Belgium’s eastern city of Liège, situated nearly 90 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of the capital, Brussels, has passed the final verdict in favor of the restitution of the Iranian heritage, IRNA reported.
The source, whose name was not revealed, praised efforts made by Iranian legal experts and officials at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handcraft and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) for following up on the case.
The contents of the nine boxes were looted over the past years from a 3000-year-old ancient site near the village of Khorvin, situated 80 kilometers (49 miles) northeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Following Iran's demand, the Brussels court ordered the seizure of the pieces and their preservation at the Museum of Brussels University, pending a final verdict.
Since the boxes contained metal items that might have oxidized over time, Iranian officials asked Belgian officials to open the boxes in the presence of ICHTO representatives. The boxes were resealed after experts examined the contents.
The ancient pin was stolen in December 2002 from the European tour of “7000 Years of Persian Art” during its run at St. Peter's Abbey in Ghent.
Iranian officials have filed several other lawsuits in courts in Britain, France, Turkey, and Pakistan for the return of smuggled artifacts over the past years.
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The Islamic State group released a video on Thursday showing militants using sledgehammers to smash ancient artifacts in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, describing the relics as idols that must be removed.In this image made from video posted on a social media account affiliated with the Islamic State group, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, a militant uses a power tool to destroy a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity at the Ninevah Museum in Mosul, Iraq [Credit: AP]
The destructions are part of a campaign by the IS extremists who have destroyed a number of shrines — including Muslim holy sites — in order to eliminate what they view as heresy. They are also believed to have sold ancient artifacts on the black market in order to finance their bloody campaign across the region.
The five-minute video shows a group of bearded men inside the Mosul Museum using hammers and drills to destroy several large statues, which are then shown chipped and in pieces. The video then shows a black-clad man at a nearby archaeological site inside Mosul, drilling through and destroying a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity that dates back to the 7th century B.C.
The video was posted on social media accounts affiliated with the Islamic State group and though it could not be independently verified it appeared authentic, based on AP's knowledge of the Mosul Museum.
Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the surrounding Nineveh province fell to the militants during their blitz last June after Iraqi security forces melted away.
In their push, the extremists captured large swaths of land in both Iraq and neighboring Syria, declared a self-styled caliphate on territories that are under their control, killing members of religious minorities, driving others from their homes, enslaving women and destroying houses of worship.
The region under IS control in Iraq has nearly 1,800 of Iraq's 12,000 registered archaeological sites and the militants appear to be out to cleanse it of any non-Islamic ideas, including library books, archaeological relics, and even Islamic sites considered idolatrous.
"Oh Muslims, these artifacts that are behind me were idols and gods worshipped by people who lived centuries ago instead of Allah," a bearded man tells the camera as he stands in front of the partially demolished winged-bull.
"The so-called Assyrians and Akkadians and others looked to gods for war, agriculture and rain to whom they offered sacrifices," he added, referring to groups that that left their mark on Mesopotamia for more than 5,000 years in what is now Iraq, eastern Syria and southern Turkey.
Militants used sledgehammers and drills to smash the statues [Credit: AP]
"Our prophet ordered us to remove all these statues as his followers did when they conquered nations," the man in the video adds. The video bore the logo of the IS group's media arm and was posted on a Twitter account used by the group.
A professor at the Archaeology College in Mosul confirmed to the Associated Press that the two sites depicted in the video are the city museum and a site known as Nirgal Gate, one of several gates to the capital of the Assyrian Empire, Ninevah.
"I'm totally shocked," Amir al-Jumaili told the AP over the phone from outside of Mosul. "It's a catastrophe. With the destruction of these artifacts, we can no longer be proud of Mosul's civilization."
He said that very few of the museum pieces are not genuine.
In this image made from video posted on a social media account affiliated with the Islamic State group, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, militants attack ancient artifacts with sledgehammers in the Ninevah Museum in Mosul, Iraq [Credit: AP]
Among the most important sites under the militants' control are four ancient cities — Ninevah, Kalhu, Dur Sharrukin and Ashur — which were at different times the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire.
The Assyrians first arose around 2500 B.C. and at one point ruled over a realm stretching from the Mediterranean coast to what is present-day Iran. Also in danger is the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hatra, which is thought to have been built in the 3rd or 2nd century B.C. by the Seleucid Empire. It flourished during the 1st and 2nd centuries as a religious and trading center.
The damage to Iraqi artifacts in Mosul is the latest episode in that has targeted the nation's heritage.
In January, Islamic State militants ransacked the Central Library of Mosul, smashing the locks and taking around 2,000 books — leaving only Islamic texts. Days later, militants broke into University of Mosul's library. They made a bonfire out of hundreds of books on science and culture, destroying them in front of students.
The day after Baghdad fell to U.S. troops in April 2003, looters burst into the Iraqi National Museum in the Iraqi capital, making off with scores of priceless artifacts and leaving the floor littered with shattered pottery. The U.S. was widely criticized at the time for failing to protect the site.
Author: Sinan Salaheddin | Source: The Associated Press [February 26, 2015]
Copyright by smart | Design Reza Abedini smart urban stage is a global online project dealing with the term FUTURE OF THE CITY. We ask pioneers from metropolises around the world to question the urban status quo. the results are visions, ideas and solutions for sustainable lifestyles, modern social systems and forward-looking developments in the fields of architecture, design and technology. the worldwide event series is exhibiting ideas and solutions of forward thinking future makers. the brand behind this online project is the car manufacturer smart, which hosted special events throughout Europe during the last two years.
Now smart initiated the online project FUTURE OF THE CITY. Within their Q&A series Dutch alternative fashion, arts and lifestyle magazine BLEND was requested to ask Iranian graphic designer Reza Abedini: In what ways does Western architecture influence Arabic buildings in the future?? BLEND: At BLEND magazine we like to shed light on cultural topics from different point of views. the Arab world is still full of mystique and ›One Thousand and One Nights‹-stereotypes, because it’s often analyzed through a Western point of view. With our Western schemas and concepts we try to understand the East. the result? Predictable answers that fit in our own concepts. Therefore it’s far more interesting to look at the rich Arabic design and architectural-tradition from a non-based point of view. Reza Abedini knows the best of both worlds. He was born in the East and now lives in the West so we think he’s the one who can give us more insight about Arabic design. ABEDINI: To talk about these influences requires a lot of time and space. But it is important to note that nowadays we all live with Western concepts and systems, and this is a necessity in modern life. Today, most of the endeavors that happen in the world of art and architecture are based on Western methods and approaches, even if their forms may look non-Western. There is a very interesting example in Isfahan, Iran. the Vank Cathedral was built under the influence of the prevailing taste and atmosphere of the Islamic architecture in early 17th century Isfahan. the building is based on the functional requirements of a church, but the form and spaces are totally shaped under the influence of exciting Islamic architecture of the era. The issue of architecture and traditional art in non-Western cultures is very sophisticated. In these cultures, to draw a line between form and function only leads to a total misunderstanding of their view of art and architecture. Many of the attempts to bridge both cultures were not successful enough. There are a few exotic examples, but they rarely touched the core of the concept. To give you an example: building a mosque in Islamic culture is mostly related to the architect’s beliefs and his attachment to ›truth‹ or ›god‹. In other words, design is not exclusively confined to form, beauty and function, although it does include all of these elements. Therefore, I think the influence of architecture is possible in form and surface, but the concepts and functions in Western architecture are not in accordance with the concept of a mosque. When you study the historical movements in art and architecture, such as Orientalism, Postmodernism and the more recent Exoticism, they seem superficial. We, both Western and non-Western, need to try to dig beneath the surface, beyond form and function, to understand the foundations of each culture on an equal level. the Western subjective and objective approaches towards other cultures have veiled the true understanding of them. FUTURE OF THE CITY
Islamic State fighters have looted and bulldozed the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, the Iraqi government said, in their latest assault on some of the world's greatest archaeological and cultural treasures.ISIS militants reportedly smashed winged-bull statues at the Iraqi archaeological site of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud on March 5, 2015. These statues known as lamassu were placed at the gates of Assyrian palaces as protective spirits [Credit: Getty Images]
A tribal source from the nearby city of Mosul told Reuters the radical Sunni Islamists, who dismiss Iraq's pre-Islamic heritage as idolatrous, had pillaged the 3,000-year-old site on the banks of the Tigris River.
The assault against Nimrud came just a week after the release of a video showing Islamic State forces smashing museum statues and carvings in Mosul, the city they seized along with much of northern Iraq last June.
"Daesh terrorist gangs continue to defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity," Iraq's tourism and antiquities ministry said, referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym.
"In a new crime in their series of reckless offences they assaulted the ancient city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy machinery, appropriating the archaeological attractions dating back 13 centuries BC," it said.
Nimrud, about 20 miles (30 km) south of Mosul, was built around 1250 BC. Four centuries later it became capital of the neo-Assyrian empire - at the time the most powerful state on Earth, extending to modern-day Egypt, Turkey and Iran.
Many of its most famous surviving monuments were removed years ago by archaeologists, including colossal Winged Bulls which are now in London's British Museum and hundreds of precious stones and pieces of gold which were moved to Baghdad.
But ruins of the ancient city remain at the northern Iraqi site, which has been excavated by a series of experts since the 19th century. British archaeologist Max Mallowan and his wife, crime writer Agatha Christie, worked at Nimrud in the 1950s.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he was deeply disturbed by the destruction at Nimrud.
"This crude attempt to erase the heritage of an ancient civilization will ultimately fail. No terrorist can rewrite history," he said in a statement.
A local tribal source confirmed the attack had taken place.
"Islamic State members came to the Nimrud archaeological city and looted the valuables in it and then they proceeded to level the site to the ground," the source told Reuters.
"There used to be statues and walls as well as a castle that Islamic State has destroyed completely."
Archaeologists have compared the assault on Iraq's cultural history to the Taliban's destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas in 2001. But the damage wreaked by Islamic State, not just on ancient monuments but also on rival Muslim places of worship, has been swift, relentless and more wide-ranging.
Last week's video showed them toppling statues and carvings from plinths in the Mosul museum and smashing them with sledgehammers and drills. It also showed damage to a huge statue of a bull at the Nergal Gate into the city of Nineveh.
Archaeologists said it was hard to quantify the damage, because some items appeared to be replicas, but many priceless articles had been destroyed including artifacts from Hatra, a stunning pillared city in northern Iraq dating back 2,000 years.
Islamic State, which rules a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, promotes a fiercely purist interpretation of Sunni Islam which seeks its inspiration from early Islamic history. It rejects religious shrines of any sort and condemns Iraq's majority Shi'ite Muslims as heretics.
In July it destroyed the tomb of the prophet Jonah in Mosul. It has also attacked Shi'ite places of worship and last year gave Mosul's Christians an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a religious levy or face death by the sword. It has also targeted the Yazidi minority in the Sinjar mountains west of Mosul.
Author: Dominic Evans and Saif Hameed | Source: Reuters [March 06, 2015]
