FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- A Fort Drum archaeologist nearing the end of a yearlong fellowship at the American Academy in Rome recently lent her expertise to a select group of panelists convened by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Alongside other experts, Dr. Laurie Rush, Fort Drum’s cultural resource manager, addressed growing international concerns over the protection of cultural property in war-torn Libya during a private conference hosted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage on July 1 and 2 in Naples.
"All too often during the course of conflict, ancient buildings, monuments, archaeological sites and sacred places are put in harm’s way," Rush said. "Sometimes " as appears to be the case in Libya " these places are deliberately targeted in an attempt to demoralize an entire population."
Rush is the first DoD employee to win a fellowship to the prestigious American Academy in Rome. Her studies in the academy’s historic preservation and conservation program do not differ drastically from her chief role for the Army, where she fosters respect among deployed Soldiers for archaeological sites, historic buildings and sacred places.
Since taking over Fort Drum’s Cultural Resource Program in 2001, her program has won nearly a dozen Army- and DoD-level awards.
Rush cited reports from northwestern Libya's Nafusa Mountains indicating that government forces have damaged important monuments, including the ancient Saffeet Tower. According to one press release sent to UNESCO, groups loyal to beleaguered Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are using the high ground at Saffeet Tower to launch missiles on local rebel populations.
"On behalf of the Libyan people of the Nafusa Mountains, we would like to appeal to UNESCO, and the international community, to urgently put a halt to the irreversible destruction of heritage sites caused by Gaddafi forces in the region," stated the press release, which was disseminated by a group called Shabab Libya. It included coordinates to help militaries protect important Libyan monuments from aerial bombardment.
Rush said western archaeologists familiar with Libyan culture believe Gaddafi is attempting to convince his people that ancient cities like Leptis Magna and Cyrenaica are remnants of colonialism and oppression rather than historic and important monuments.
"In fact," Rush said, "the Libyans can take tremendous pride in the knowledge that Septimius Severus, emperor of Rome from 193-211, was born, raised and educated in the Libyan city of Leptis Magna."
The panel of international experts noted that since civil war broke out in Libya earlier this year, communities have requested the preservation of their cultural heritage and property. Panelists also mentioned the need for modern militaries to produce qualified individuals in uniform whenever responding to conflict or natural disaster situations.
A colonel from the Italian Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Cultural Patrimony, part of the world's only deploying force trained for cultural resource missions, discussed his organization's focus not only on protecting art and archaeological sites, but also in offering education and documentation that helps prevent damage and theft.
Rush, who has worked extensively with the Carabinieri while studying in Rome, said she believes having an educated fighting force when it comes to cultural resource protection is "absolutely critical."
"It is not only critical for global operations and disaster response, but also for situations like in Egypt," she explained, "when the ordinary law and order in a society breaks down and there are valuable assets in the museums and landscape that need to be protected so that they will still be there when the crisis is over."
Some of the rock art in the Libyan desert could be as much as 7,000 years old, Rush said, adding that archaeological evidence in Jebel Gharbi indicates human occupation dating as far back as 150,000 years.
Of all the presentations at the conference, Rush said the most compelling ones came from Libyan delegates, some of whom made the long challenging journey across desert to reach Italy via Egypt in order to express their hopes and fears of a future “New Libya.”
"The Libyan conflict is no longer an abstraction for me, something that I check on in the morning international newspapers," Rush said afterwards. "It is difficult for me to describe the impact of meeting people who are worried for their families, who have been through so much already, but whose hope is so strong it is overwhelming.
"It reminds me, once again, how incredibly fortunate I am to be from the United States," she added. "It is also humbling to know that the United States government is still a beacon to so many others around the world. We have a huge responsibility.”
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