Iraq Christian heritage sites lie mouldering and neglected
Arab poets described one of the locations as a
paradise on Earth :
IRAQ: A stone's throw from Iraq's Shiite holy city of Najaf's
airport, the remains of the celebrated ancient Christian city of Hira
lie neglected and mouldering, because funds for excavation have dried
up. Three sites, discovered five years ago, are unexplored and unkempt,
and officials fear the uncompleted excavation could lead to their
eventual demise.
The sites, which contain mud walls and jars that are exposed to the
elements, lie fewer than 100 metres (yards) from an active runway, are
not fenced off and have no security except their proximity to the
restricted airport area.
They form part of the ancient Lakhmid capital of Hira, on the
outskirts of Najaf, 150 kilometres (95 miles) south of Baghdad.
The Lakhmids were a pre-Islamic Arab tribe that are believed to have
emigrated to what is now Iraq from Yemen in the second or third century.
The founder of the dynasty was Amr, whose son, Imru al-Qais, converted
to Christianity.
In 266, the Lakhmids turned the former military encampment of Hira
into their capital.
Establishing their empire across what is now Iraq and northeastern
Arabia, they held sway across the lands that lay between the Persians --
to whom they were vassals for several centuries -- and the Romans.
They were a major force among the pre-Islamic Arab peoples, with
their culture and learning spread widely and where the early Arabic
alphabet was standardised.
Arab poets described Hira as a paradise on earth, with one saying
that, because of the city's pleasant climate and beauty, a day in Hira
was “better than a year of treatment”.
Hira, which extends around 17 kilometres (10 miles) south from Najaf,
remained the Lakhmid capital until 663, when Muslim general Khalid bin
al-Walid conquered it on the orders of Abu Baqr, the immediate successor
of the Prophet Mohammed.
“But now, the antiquities have been neglected for a year, and they do
not receive any attention, despite the fact that many Western countries
are interested in Hira's history as the main gateway of Christianity
into Iraq.” Hira was famous for its arable land, and for its palaces and
monasteries, notably the Aoun al-Abadi Palace, which hosted visiting
dignitaries, and the Al-Lij monastery.
The sites feature the historic treasures of the Lakhmid era, such as
the bases of massive abbeys that include dozens of rooms, from studying
halls to monastic cells and storage areas.
“Christians have lived for a long period of time in the Hira region,
where they formed around one-third of the city's population, with the
Al-Abad tribe the most well-known of their community,” said Yahya Kadhim
al-Sultani, a professor at Kufa University in Najaf's twin city.
“Hira was characterised by a not insignificant number of churches
built for living in, and the practise of various scientific and cultural
activities,” Sultani added.
The ancient city has seen several excavations in decades past, Jabari
said.
Oxford University researchers explored the site in the 1930s, and
Iraqi antiquities experts carried out their own excavations in 1938,
1956 and 1957.
It was during the latter set of explorations that the Palace of Al-Khawarnaq,
built during the reign of fourth and fifth century King Numan I was
discovered.
But since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein,
Baghdad's government has had bigger priorities than funding large-scale
digs in a country with more than 12,000 documented archaeological sites.
Foreign exploration teams have largely avoided Iraq entirely over
security fears, even though levels of violence in the country are
significantly lower than their peak in 2006 and 2007. And those who have
come have largely chosen to focus on the autonomous and relatively safe
Kurdistan region in the north for excavations.
“The excavation works resumed in the area in 2007. When expansion
work was being done to Najaf airport, the first three sites were
discovered,” said Jabari.
“We have worked to save it from the (airport) expansion process.”
Since then, several digs in an area of 3,000 square metres (32,300
square feet) have uncovered the bases of mud-built structures, as well
as crosses etched into walls, and a piece of wax marble with the
inscription, “Blessings from God, and God forgave the followers of
Christ.” In 2009, the Najaf provincial department of antiquities said
researchers had unearthed around 2,100 artefacts in different parts of
the province, including coins, pieces of pottery and a number of
buildings dating back to the Lakhmid dynasty. “But exploration work
stopped a year ago because of time limits on the project, which ran out
of money, and no maintenance work has been done on the sites since,”
Jabari said.
AFP |