edited draft, chapter 13 in: Congram (2016) Missing Persons; Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Disappeared. Canadian Scholars' Press.

Chapter 38 in: Blau, S. and D. Ubelaker (Eds.) Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology, 2nd Edition. Routledge.

The response of the archaeological community to the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq was focused largely on the rescue and protection of Iraq’s cultural heritage, specifically looted artifacts, archaeological sites, and museums. Many of these efforts to return and safeguard Iraqi antiquities involved archaeological interaction with various allied military forces occupying the area (Hamilakis 2003, 2009; Teijgeler 2008). The preservation and protection of antiquities amidst military occupation has raised growing concerns within the archaeological community regarding the ethical and political aspects of “embedded archaeology,” i.e. collaborating with military and occupation authorities in the service of rescuing antiquities. Some archaeologists cite the legitimization of invasions and civilian casualties as consequences of these collaborations (Hamilakis 2003; 2009:43; Teijgeler 2008). Others argue that collaborative efforts do not necessarily condone military actions. Engaging with military forces to protect cultural heritage is the primary responsibility of archaeologists and the reality of archaeology in the midst of conflict (Lawler 2008; Stone 2009a, b). What has become clear throughout these debates is the need to assess the experiences of archaeologists in the Iraq War for the purpose of establishing guidelines for the conduct of archaeologists in conflict situations (Pollock 2008; Perring and Linde 2009).

“The chess board is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature.” Thomas Huxley Why involve archaeologists in forensics? This chapter discusses practical reasons why. Archaeologists have begun to be used for excavation and recovery in crime scene and other forensic investigations as they demonstrate they have expertise in untangling the seemingly chaotic structure of scattered and buried features, artefacts and deposits. With Huxley’s chess board view of the world in mind, archaeologists have specifically developed strategies for managing and organising the spatial and temporal control and analysis of complex sites- playing the chess game of investigating buried landscapes with rules utilising the laws of nature. Few agencies historically in charge of crime scene and forensic cases have realised both the complexities of these buried environments and the need for archaeologist’s specialist skills in winning the game of uncovering ‘hidden’ evidence; the pathologist Sir Sydney Smith in 1924 saw ‘something of the worries of an archaeologist’ when excavating a mass grave during a murder investigation in Cairo (Smith 1959:71). The pathologist Keith Mant realised the spatial control required in exhumations and the effects of taphonomy on remains and evidence while recovering missing servicemen in post war Germany (Mant 1987). Stuart Kind (1987) of the Forensic Science Service noted the similarities between crime investigation and archaeology; both reasoning hypotheses from fragmentary evidence, determining events along time lines and understanding principles of evidential identification, deterioration and change. Such realisation globally is still limited, but has spread as professional archaeologists and anthropologists have applied themselves to forensic questions (for example Hunter et al 1996, Spennemann and Franke 1994, Davis 1992, Iscan 1988, Skinner 1987, Bass 1978, Morse et al 1976). entering mainstream forensic and media consciousness in N., C. and S. America, the UK, Australia and in some international war crimes investigations. What is clear is that any archaeologist or anthropologist engaging in forensic work must adapt to a medico-legal framework, which may involve time constraints, evidential and information controls that are outside their usual realm of experience.

AA.VV., The Journal of Art Crime: Issue 13: Spring 2015, Association for Research into Crime against Art (ARCA), 2015: ISBN-10: 1514188201

ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives (ASOR CHI) uses a wide range of ground-based observations to report on the cultural heritage situation in Syria and north- ern Iraq. Coupled with analyses of high-resolution satellite imagery, these sources of information pro- vide a powerful method for quickly and accurately assessing the ongoing crisis for the US Department of State and alerting the public to the woeful loss of Near Eastern cultural heritage. Looting, combat damage, deliberate destructions of heritage places, vandalism, and uncontrolled development are all taking terrible tolls on heritage throughout the region. While all ma- jor combatants and populations are linked to the de- struction, non-state Jihadi-Salafi groups such as ISIL, Al Qaeda-affiliates such as Jabhat al-Nusra, and other Islamist extremists are by far the most brazen and egregious offenders with overt policies of destroying and liquidating cultural assets to support terrorism and to conduct cultural cleansing on a scale and in- tensity tantamount to a global war on culture.