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Soldiers Help Preserve Archeological Sites

Jun- 8-2004 » Filed Under: Iraq News

Interesting reminder that Iraq was the cradle of civilization.

[Link to Full Article]
By U.S. Army Spc. Sean Kimmons / 25th Infantry Division

KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq, June 7, 2004 — Four and five thousand-year old artifacts from Iraq's multi-cultured past were discovered here when soldiers of Company B, 65th Engineer Battalion dug into a hill while gathering dirt for Hesco defense barriers in late April.

Capt. Nicholas Gianforti, an intelligence officer for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and an anthropology major from St. John Fisher University, was one of the first to respond to the archeological site after its discovery.

"Once the engineers found it they stopped, backed off and notified the brigade tactical operations center," Gianforti said. "The next day, I went out to the site to verify whether or not it was an archeological find."

The hill, indeed, was an archeological site and so were nearby hills in the vicinity of the container village on the west side of the base.

"I think it's a great find," Gianforti said. "We are operating in and protecting the birthplace of civilization. It's amazing that soldiers just have to step outside their living quarters and be at the doorstep to ancient civilization."

Throughout the month of May, Comapny B, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion, a Reservist unit out of Pasadena, Texas, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team while in Iraq, has been inviting local archeologists from the Museum of Antiquities on base to identify artifacts and other potential archeological sites.


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