Cultural Heritage Preservation Project -

Cultural Heritage Preservation Project - Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent

The objective in this work is to select a specific art repository in Iraq and then to devise a plan to preserve it as well as to locate the funding with which to implement the preservation. There will be an Internet search conducted with the search narrowed to Ancient Civilization specifically that of the Mesopotamia Region known as the Fertile Crescent c. 7000 BC: Sumeria, Akkadia, Babylonia, and Assyria.

The cultural heritage of the old Mesopotamian area is as long as it is deep in history and culture that holds ties with all civilizations of the world. The area of Mesopotamia was the first known civilized area of the world in the beginning of the history of mankind. Mesopotamia is known as "the land between the rivers" and as "the Fertile Crescent" and lies between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The Mesopotamia region is the area, which is now modern Iraq. The area was known to be the beginning of the agricultural revolution. Sometime between the period 3500 and 3000 B.C. For unknown reasons and yet not understood the civilization in South Mesopotamia underwent a drastic and sudden change. Speculation has named climatic change for the reason the agricultural growth became less productive. During the Early Dynastic period, or the main years of the third millennium the earliest Sumerian writing came into being. The area's environment was hostile complete with storms, droughts, floods, dust, and heat, Disease and death were prominent in the lives of the civilization in this area.

Assessment

The following issues will need to be considered in the preservation of the National Library in Iraq:

1. A major section of the library was burned with walls, ceilings, floors, staircases, windows, and doors charred. There is no electricity, heating, air-conditioning, plumbing or telephone in the front part of the building.

2. Most of what was burned in the library was archives covering the era from 1977 to the present. Other archives are unharmed.

3. Microfilms were burned.

4.Soot is in the vents on all five stack levels and is deposited on all the books and shelves

5. There are more than 1 million items that will needs cleaned and re-shelving.

6. Library card are scattered around the library.

7. Head of human resources informs that there were 160 employees in the National Library prior to the war. Of those 160, 70 worked with books and 90 had roles of cleaning and guarding the library, cataloguing, preparing bibliographies, acquisition, microfilming of newspapers. All had been employed with the library over 20 years.

Final Assessment

The building housing the National Library is unsuitable and has been damaged too intensely to be used. Even if repaired the location is unattractive, the facilities limited and architecturally indistinguishable. Recommendations are for a new library with steel framed construction of several floors linked to the National Archives by a pedestrian walkway.

Financial Assistance Provisions

Financial assistance will be applied for through the United States funding source as announced in the press release in April 2003.