Civil Affairs helps uncover the past at Hatra
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by Sgt. 1st Class Julie Friedman
MOSUL, Iraq – One of the most culturally and historically significant sites in the Ninevah Province is the ancient walled city of Hatra, in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers known as Al Jazirah.
Originally built as a fortress, it guarded the two main caravan routes connecting Mesopotamia with Syria and Asia Minor between the first century BC and the second century AD.
Members of the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Norristown, Pa., are helping the Iraqi people restore the site. Maj. Wayne Bowen of Little Rock, Ark., said Hatra is the most exciting site he has visited since the unit arrived in Iraq in February.
“Visually it’s the most stunning,” he said, “and it ranks up there in significance with Nimrud and Old Ninevah, as well as some of the other places we’re looking at.”
As leader of the 416th’s Higher Education and Antiquities Team, Bowen is working with Muzahim Mahmood, Ninevah Director of Antiquities, to prepare the site known as the “place of the temples” to once again be a center for tourism.
Located about 80 kilometers southwest of the city of Mosul, Hatra is the most restored of all the historic sites in Ninevah Province due to previous efforts of the Iraqi government before Saddam Hussein.
According to Mahmood, excavations were started in 1950 by the Department of Antiquities, with international assistance from archaeologists.
“We hope to continue those efforts with the help of Multi-National Forces,” he said.
Bowen noted that only 10 percent of Hatra has been excavated to date, so 90 percent of the city is still waiting to be discovered.
“It’s not just about the past, it’s about what we can look forward to as we develop this site,” he said.
Efforts are underway to begin some projects with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Monument Fund, Bowen explained, but because of the security situation in the country, it has been difficult.
“We can at least help with security, as we’ve done, and get some of the basic services back. Once the international community is able to return in a significant way through UNESCO and other groups, they can bring more expertise to hand to work on more of the excavations,” he said.
The first project the civil affairs Soldiers are undertaking is renovating the visitors’ center, to include improving the plumbing and replacing the windows that were destroyed. Bowen said the goal is “to make the place more usable for the archaeologists who will continue excavations and the visitors who will come to see this spectacular site.”
The 416th obtained funding for the $27,950 visitors’ center project through the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, which is used at the discretion of commanders after consultation with local leaders and government agencies to determine which projects will have the greatest impact on local communities.
Officers from the Facilities Protective Services and the Antiquities Police now protect the Hatra site. As the restoration progresses, many of the more than 2,000 architecturally significant items that are now secured in Baghdad will be brought back.
“Fortunately, most of the key treasures from here had been taken to Baghdad prior to the war,” Bowen said, “and we’re hoping they’ll be returned soon so the people can see them in their original locations.”
The remains of several temples and the ancient walls that surrounded them can be seen from atop the highest temple in the center of the ancient city of Hatra.
The temples of Hatra show evidence of Hellenistic and Roman architecture blended with Eastern decorative features.
Maj. Wayne Bowen of the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion, standing atop the highest temple in Hatra, surveys the area as the Ninevah Director of Antiquities, Muzahim Mahmood (right), points out whole sections of the ancient city still waiting to be excavated.
(Photos by Sgt. 1st Class Julie Friedman)
(via DVIDS)
Comments For "Civil Affairs helps uncover the past at Hatra":
Wow! I love this ancient historical info....Iraq has so much wonderful history from Biblical times too; we should pay attention. These peoples have lived there for a very long time; let us respect their homeland for these reasons (irrespective of the war and politics).
Posted by: KarenK, proud Stryker mom | September 29, 2004 5:19 PM
Hatra's Walls are covered in Syriac/ Assyrian Writings but Saddam use to remove them (plaster over them or simply chisel them out), are they protected now? (is there any writing remain on the walls). They linked Hatra to it's Christian past (among them Nestorian) which Arabs don't find interesting?!!!
Posted by: Assyrian king | October 21, 2004 7:17 AM