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Three years after their destruction by extremists, the Timbuktu mausoleums are nearly restored through the extraordinary work carried out by local craftsmen and with international support. The announcement came at an event held in Bonn as part of the World Heritage Committee session taking place in the German city.

Reconstruction of Timbuktu mausoleums nears completion — **Timbuktu's historic mausoleums are due to be restored by the end of July**
**[Credit: © CRAterre/Thierry Joffroy]**

“The reconstruction of the mausoleums in Timbuktu is a fine example of the successful implementation of the decisions of the World Heritage Committee. Since the site was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012, the World Heritage Committee has been working on this case,” said Maria Böhmer, Chair of the World Heritage Committee at the event. “We are deeply impressed by what has been achieved regarding the safeguarding of this incomparable World Heritage property. At a time when heritage is coming under attack by armed groups, the reconstruction of the mausoleums of Timbuktu gives us grounds for optimism.”

“Timbuktu is the symbol of a country that is recovering and regaining its self-confidence. It is the best answer we can give to violent extremists and a remarkable success story for the international community,” declared UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán.

Mali’s Minister of Culture, Handicraft and Tourism Ramatoulaye Diallo N'Diaye praised the work of the masons of Timbuktu and also spoke to the plight of heritage in conflict areas. “The heritage community has experienced and is still experiencing great difficulties. The nature of certain ideological wars has turned World Heritage and the vestiges of the past into choice targets to shock public opinion and take their would-be armed combat on to the media,” he said.

During the event, Ms Böhmer presented a UNESCO medal on behalf of the Organization’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, to Alassane Hasseye, head of the guild of Timbuktu masons, custodians of unique traditional know-how in the maintenance of earthen architecture. It was presented to him in recognition of work carried out by his guild.

The mausoleums of Timbuktu have long been places of pilgrimage for the people of Mali and neighbouring countries. They were widely believed to protect the city from danger. The oldest of these edifices were built in the 13th century. Sixteen of them are inscribed on the World Heritage List and 14 were destroyed in 2012, representing a tragic loss for local communities. Due to this, the government of Mali in 2013 turned to outside partners, including UNESCO, for assistance.

Source: UNESCO [July 07, 2015]

As armed groups in Syria and Iraq destroy priceless archaeological sites, European authorities and dealers are on high alert for smaller, looted artefacts put on sale to help finance the jihadists' war.

Antiquities market on alert for looted Syrian spoils — **Looted funerary reliefs from Palmyra [Credit: AP/SANA]**

Stolen-art expert Chris Marinello, director of Art Recovery International, said he has been shown photographs of items being offered from Syria that were "clearly looted right out of the ground".

"You could still see dirt on some of these objects," he told AFP.

They included cylinder seals, Roman bottles and vases, although Marinello said it was unclear whether the items were still in Syria, were in transit or had arrived in the key markets of Europe and the United States.

Concerns about looting during the Syrian war have increased following the advance of the Islamic State group through parts of Syria and Iraq, and recent propaganda videos showing their destruction of ancient sites such as Nimrud.

The UN Security Council in February demanded UN states act to stop the trade in cultural property from those two countries, amid warnings that they represented a significant source of funding for the militant group.

Experts say it is impossible to put a value on antiquities looted from Syria, which has been home to many civilisations through the millennia, from the Canaanites to the Ottomans.

The London-based International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA) estimates the entire legitimate antiquities market in 2013 was worth between 150 and 200 million euros ($160-215 million).

Marinello said reputable dealers are "being very careful not to touch anything that could remotely be part of this recent wave of looting".

But Hermann Parzinger, an archaeologist and president of the Germany-based Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, said there was an "enormous market" from private buyers.

He warned that the cultural costs were huge, telling AFP: "The context which is so important to reconstruct the history of these civilisations is completely destroyed."

Italy has proposed that world heritage body UNESCO create a military taskforce to protect cultural sites in war zones, but many experts believe little can be done to stop the current destruction.

Instead, they are forced to wait until the conflict ends and watch in horror as priceless historic sites are destroyed and the spoils gradually emerge onto the market.

Vernon Rapley, a former head of the art and antiquities squad at London's Metropolitan Police, expects many Syrian items to be held back to avoid flooding the market, as occurred after the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The looted artefacts were likely to be "hauled up in warehouses either in the country or near the country, and only linked to the art trade in small pieces and at a later stage", he told AFP.

Stephane Thefo, who leads an Interpol unit dedicated to fighting the illegal trafficking of cultural goods, agreed that many items may disappear for years -- but insisted that tackling the trade was the best way to combat looting.

The French policeman would like to see tougher national laws on trafficking of cultural goods, something Germany is currently considering.

"We have to act by seeking to narrow markets for the illicit trade, hoping that by curbing the demand, the supply would eventually decrease," Thefo said.

Identifying looted objects is no easy task, however, not least because cultural crime is rarely a police priority.

The law puts the onus on the authorities to prove an item is illegal and a long delay in an artefact being sold, or multiple owners, make it hard to establish provenance.

At a conference at the V&A museum in London this week on the destruction of cultural property in conflict areas in Iraq and Syria, Mali, Libya and Yemen, archaeologists stressed the need for proper inventories of heritage sites.

They noted that objects that have been photographed and digitally catalogued are more likely to be recovered.

Interpol is currently building a database of stolen objects, and James Ede, a London dealer and IADAA board member, urged cultural bodies to share their information with dealers.

"This material will necessarily surface on the open market sooner or later. The challenge therefore is to identify it and where possible to return it when it is safe to do so," he said.

Author: Alice Ritchie | Source: AFP [April 17, 2015]