Accordo CNR - RS (Regno Unito) Biennio 2023-2024 Progetto CIGNA/RAYNE - Vanishing archaeological landscapes under anthropogenic and climate change threats

The proposed project puts together archaeologists, satellite image analysts and climate/environmental scientists from CNR-ISAC and UNEW, and the Iraqi academic community, to develop an approach combining satellite and on-the-ground observation to investigate anthropogenic and climate change-related processes impacting ancient buildings, tells and water systems.
The area of interest encompasses the sites and hinterlands of Eridu and Basra, recorded as part of a pilot study by Drs Rayne and Jotheri (UNEW team) using remote sensing and fieldwork. It also covers an area including Wasit governorate, where Drs Cigna and Tapete (CNR-ISAC team) conducted pilot satellite studies.
Iraq is a dense heritage landscape of monuments, mounds (‘tells’), ancient roads and canals, and other remains dating back to different ages that are spread across the country. Archaeological datasets including the Endangered Archaeology database provide case studies for analysis of changes. Much shorter may be the time scale by when these sites - and those yet to be inventoried - could disappear. As increasingly being witnessed by international consortia and the academic community of Iraq, heritage is threatened by urbanisation, agriculture, looting, land use/change of destination and conflict-related cascading hazards (e.g. destruction, fires, pollution), as well as by climate change-related problems. Documentation achieved in this project will have the impact of providing the local stakeholders with a set of digital thematic maps that can be used to expedite, in a context of limited resources, the survey and identification of threatened areas and inform the design of mitigation measures.