Dear Mar Shiprim readers,
This month we thank Jaafar Jotheri, Professor of Geoarchaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah, for taking the time to share his thoughts on the past, present and future of Archaeology and Assyriology in Iraq.
With warm wishes,
Pavla Rosenstein
Mar Shiprim Editor
In the Spotlight – The Department of Archaeology, University of Al-Qadisiyah with Prof. Jaafar Jotheri
Can you please introduce yourself?
I was born in 1977 in Babylon, in Iraq. I grew up and worked during my early life on my father’s farm by the Euphrates, where we used the traditional irrigation method involving a water wheel pulled by horses, manually dug and maintained canals, and tended to wheat, barley, vegetables, fruits, and palm trees. I completed my undergraduate degree in Geology at Mosul University and then my MSc in Geological Survey at Baghdad University. I started teaching Geoarchaeology at Al-Qadisiyah University in 2004 and then got a PhD scholarship in 2012 to study Landscape Archaeology at Durham University, UK, where I obtained my PhD in 2016. I am currently a Professor of Geoarcheology at the Department of Archaeology, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Iraq, where I teach and supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students. I also organize the annual international conference on Mesopotamian archaeology, and develop curriculums and modules, for example, on remote sensing, GIS, geoarchaeology, bioarchaeology and archaeological survey methods.
I conducted several archaeological excavations and surveys in Iraq, focusing on the landscape of ancient Iraq and ancient rivers, marshes, canals, irrigation systems, and roads, having published more than 20 articles on the topic. I also focus on building connections between Iraqi and international universities and institutions, including University College London, Durham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Tokushima, Sapienza and Stony Brook Universities, the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (London), The International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA), the Academic Research Institute in Iraq (USA), The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR), the British Academy and the International Association for Assyriology (IAA). An example of a recent international collaboration is a project developed within the framework of the Italian National Research Council – UK Royal Society bilateral cooperation programme, with satellite and on-the-ground observations to investigate anthropogenic and climate change-related processes that impact Iraq’s cultural landscapes and heritage.
Jaafar Jotheri sitting between parents at their farm in Babylon, by the Euphrates (all images and captions courtesy of Jaafar Jotheri).
Can you tell us more about the history of Assyriology and Archaeology at the University of of Al-Qadisiyah?
In 1990, an archaeological unit was founded within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Al-Qadisiyah by the Iraqi Assyriologist Nael Hannon, who was then the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. The unit conducted several excavation seasons at the site of ancient Marad (modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum) in Diwaniyah in the 1990s. In 2002, the unit was promoted to the Department of Archaeology, and in 2014 to the Faculty of Archaeology, which consists of the Department of Archaeology and Cuneiform Studies. It is Iraq’s most extensive archaeological educational institution with regard to the number of staff, students, academic programmes, and international connections. The faculty is made up of professors and assistant professors across a number of fields, including six Sumerian and Babylonian language specialists, five ancient archaeologists, five Islamic archaeologists, two landscape archaeologists, and four historians.
In terms of students, we have over 200 undergraduates and 60 postgraduates. There are five MA programmes: Ancient Archaeology, Sumerian and Babylonian Languages, Heritage, Landscape Archaeology, and Islamic Archaeology, in addition to two PhD programmes: Ancient Archaeology, and Sumerian and Babylonian Languages. The Faculty of Archaeology also holds an annual international conference on Mesopotamian archaeology, maintains a museum on the university campus and publishes a scientific journal called Isin Journal for Archaeology, History and Ancient Languages.
Pictured right is Professor Nael Hannon (who completed his PhD in Assyriology at the University of Toronto in 1982), the founder of the first archaeological unit at the University of Al-Qadisyah in 1990. He was about to retire when I returned to Iraq from Durham after finishing my PhD in 2016.
The University of al-Qadisiyah has been granted permission by the Iraqi Heritage Authority to train students and staff to excavate at an archaeological site (Ramahiayh Islamic archaeological site in Diwaniyah https://qu.edu.iq/?p=88380) specifically in partnership with Durham University. The team at Durham has extensive knowledge of Mesopotamian archaeology and experience working in Iraq. They have also collaborated with Iraqi staff and students in a supportive and constructive manner through a long-term partnership that has benefited local Iraqis. The Al-Qadisiyah staff and students were very excited to work with the Durham team, and this kind of partnership and cooperation is a good example of effective practice in the post-colonial era in the Middle East. Two additional current projects funded by ASOR include the documentation and protection of Abassid rest stations along the Hajj pilgrimage road (Darb Zubaydah), which stretches from Kufa in Iraq to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and an archeological survey of the springs in the western Iraqi desert.
The University of Al-Qadisiyah has a long-term partnership with Durham University, and part of it is a joint excavation and survey project at the Al-Ramahiyah site near Al-Qadisiyah University.
How would you describe the current state of the field in Iraq?
There are nine state-funded educational institutions in Iraq with Assyriology programmes: four Faculties of Archaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah, the University of Mosul, the University of Kufa, and the University of ThiQar, and five Departments of Archaeology at the University of Baghdad, the University of Babylon, the University of Tikrit, the University of Samarra, and the University of Al-Muthanna. One privately funded institution is the Department of Archaeology at Al-Mustaqbal University.
These institutions cooperate through the Ministry of Higher Education, and there is a national committee for the archaeology curriculum consisting of representatives from each institution. The University of Al-Qadisiyah first headed it, followed by Mosul. Only four institutions have postgraduate programmes: Al-Qadisiyah, Baghdad, Mosul and Kufa, and only two of them hold an annual international conference: Al-Qadisiyah and Mosul. Since 2020, the number of students who apply to study archaeology started declining across state-funded institutions due to the growing number of new private universities in Iraq that offer students a variety of subjects with lower grade requirements and better employment prospects after graduation, such as law, economics, education, and the arts.
The Ministry of Culture is the only public body that recruits archaeologists, and the number of offered jobs is decreasing. The private sector is not yet developed enough to provide archaeologists employment in Iraq. That is why some archaeological undergraduate programmes were recently closed at Samarra, ThiQar, Mosul, Al-Muthann, and Kufa universities. The government currently lacks a specific plan to encourage students to study archaeology.
Al-Qadisiyah holds the annual international conference of Mesopotamian Archaeology.
The Heritage Authority does not receive funds for new excavation, survey, or restoration projects and therefore relies on international projects. A law called ‘the investment law’ was issued in 2006 and amended in 2013 and 2015, which allows investors who wish to build infrastructure on any given land to implement a development project regardless of existing archaeological sites. The Heritage Authority is only required to approve a quick “rescue excavation” funded by the investor. For example, the law was applied to the rescue excavation in Old Basra in Zubair City to build a new housing complex, and in Old Hira in Najaf to expand Najaf Airport, permanently erasing these two ancient sites, which is a real concern.
While each of the 15 provinces in Iraq has a specific building adapted to function as a local museum, apart from the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad, only Basrah and ThiQar currently have their local museum open. The number of museum visitors generally remains low, due to lack of investment in museums’ public outreach, and the fact that the museums are mainly designed to store artefacts rather than publicly present them. Additionally, the Iraqi law of antiquity does not encourage stakeholders (Iraqi or international governmental or non-governmental organizations) to offer support to the Iraqi Heritage Authority which cannot by itself manage the high number of archaeological sites and the level of danger these sites face.
Archaeology and History curriculums are present but limited in primary and secondary schools, while visiting museums of archeological sites is not part of the schools’ annual programme so public knowledge about ancient Iraqi heritage remains ripe for development. However, as social media platforms are now reaching every part of Iraq, many Iraqi archaeologists have become public figures with up to hundreds of thousands of followers, which has given a boost to our field. These archaeologists actively share heritage content that can provide the public with accurate general knowledge about Iraq’s ancient past. Amer Abdul Razzaq sets a good example, with over 82,000 followers on Facebook.
How would you assess the future of Assyriology in Iraq?
Generally speaking, investing in young Assyriologists worldwide, enabling them to build broad networks among themselves and with colleagues across the globe, as well as focusing on developing digital Assyriology are in my view priorities for this subject to survive and thrive in the future. As for Assyriology in Iraq, we would benefit from more Western archaeologists such as Eleanor Robson and Kristen Hopper who work “head and heart” with local Iraqis to build and implement the idea of decolonization of Iraqi heritage, and I hope to see more Iraqi universities work with their international partners to develop Iraqi academia in archaeology. Scientific, digital, and laboratory approaches should also be standard in teaching and studying archaeology in Iraq, as it has now become standard at some Iraqi universities to teach without fieldwork or laboratory work. The lack of access to international publishing companies and libraries also remains a barrier to the development of Iraqi staff and students, as does the lack of sustainable access to archaeological sites in Iraq through the tourism industry.
The Iraqi heritage laws could be amended to be more attractive to local and international research and public engagement. For example, the current laws give international organizations full rights to carry out excavations and surveys without requiring engagement with local populations. It would be beneficial, for international organizations to also train local students or archaeologists, preserve sites after digging, provide resources for public outreach or partner with local universities of Iraqi scholars as standard practice.
Iraq needs more Western archaeologists who work head and heart to help the locals decolonize Iraqi heritage.
In the future, I envision a long-term project that can transform how local Iraqis look at their history. We can target new generations to make them more interested in discovering and valuing the heritage around them. Doing so can ensure a sustainable cultural heritage sector that can develop and thrive locally and be less dependent on state and international funding. We must encourage local donations and other Iraqi stakeholders’ contributions as well. An interesting reference is from the world of religion – the Araba’in pilgrimage, for example, has been maintained sustainably through local communities without formal investment from the state but rather through social and community engagement. We can build on these experiences and direct some of them to serve our heritage work.
I also see the importance of Iraq’s rich heritage in countering negative impressions of modern Iraq, which can be dominated by images of conflict and destruction, rather than its beauty and rich history. Whenever I travel, especially in Europe, I find that outside of archaeologists and historians, people may not know much about Iraq or conversely may carry misconceptions about it. At the same time the Iraqi passport – beautifully decorated with the Assyrian lamassu on its first page – makes travel complicated. While every passenger has the green light and an open gate when they scan their boarding pass, there is a red flash and a beep when it is my turn.
Interview by Pavla Rosenstein