On the Iraq border archaeological digs are a minefield – in every sense

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 20^th and 21^st 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.