On
the Iraq border archaeological digs are a minefield is the title of a highly interesting article written by Mary Shepperson
in November 2017 and updated as recently as 14 February 2018.
The modern war between Iran and Iraq ended some thirty years ago, and the conflict and its consequences have been pushed to the back of
our memory and replaced by more recent (and apparently more dramatic) wars. But
the fact remains that in the spring of 1987, 60,000 Iranians and 20,000 Iraqis
were killed during the siege of Basra .
The reason I am pulling this out is because Mary Shepperson
is looking at the damaged site of Charax
Spasinou in the province
of Basra , Iraq, which was founded by Alexander the Great in 324 BC as Alexandria-on-the-Tigris.
Excavations at that site are far more complex than I made appear in my previous
blog, Excavations
at Alexandria-on-the-Tigris, and the damage that was done during the
conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries is beyond
description. This is well illustrated by the drone picture published in the said
article:
In fact, the best thing to do is to read the
full article by clicking on the link at the start of this page. It once again
shows how little consideration people, entire populations, even have for their
past. I believe every one of us can draw his/her own conclusions.
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