132 Ground-Based Observations of Cultural Heritage Incidents in Syria and Iraq ~ Michael D. Danti ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives (ASOR CHI) uses a wide range of ground-based observations to report on the cultural heritage situation in Syria and north- ern Iraq. Coupled with analyses of high-resolution satellite imagery, these sources of information pro- vide a powerful method for quickly and accurately assessing the ongoing crisis for the US Department of State and alerting the public to the woeful loss of Near Eastern cultural heritage. Looting, combat damage, deliberate destructions of heritage places, vandalism, and uncontrolled development are all taking terrible tolls on heritage throughout the region. While all ma- jor combatants and populations are linked to the de- struction, non-state Jihadi-Sala i groups such as ISIL, Al Qaeda-ail iates such as Jabhat al-Nusra, and other Islamist extremists are by far the most brazen and egregious ofenders with overt policies o f destroying and liquidating cultural assets to support terrorism and to conduct cultural cleansing on a scale and in- tensity tantamount to a global war on culture. ◉ 142 Satellite Imagery-Based Analysis of Archaeological Looting in Syria ~ Jesse Casana Most eforts to evaluate the impact of the war in Syria on the country’s cultural heritage have struggled with the highly politicized nature of reporting and the total absence of evidence from many regions. As part of ASOR’s Cultural Heritage Initiative, this study documents patterns of loot- ing and other forms of damage at more than 1,200 Volume 78 • Issue 3 • september 2015 NEAR EASTERN On the Cover : Remains of the 13 th century c. e. minaret of the Ummayad Mosque in Aleppo, Syria, destroyed in fighting in April 2013. Photograph by “Lens of a Young Halabi,” reproduced courtesy of Heritage for Peace. Special Issue: The Cultural Heritage Crisis in the Middle East archaeological sites using recent, high-resolution satellite imagery. Analysis focuses on generating quantiiable data regarding the scope and severity of looting across Syria. Results suggest that more than 25% of archaeological sites in Syria have been im- pacted by looting since the war began, an order of magnitude increase over pre-war levels, but that the frequency and severity of looting varies signiicantly across areas held by diferent factions in the conlict. ◉ 154 Responding to a Cultural Heritage Crisis: The Example of the Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project ~ Salam Al Quntar, Katharyn Hanson, Brian I. Daniels, and Corine Wegener Considerable attention has been given to the ongo- ing destruction of cultural heritage as part of the current crisis in Syria and Iraq. While many aca- demic responses have started the important work of documenting the extent and scale of the damage to cultural sites in both countries, there have been few- er attempts to work within a humanitarian frame- work in order to support Syrians and Iraqis who are undertaking emergency eforts to protect heritage at risk. his article discusses the strategies employed by the Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq (SHOSI) Project to assist in-country professionals and civil society activists in their attempts to protect key heritage sites. he approach combines the em- powerment of Syrians and Iraqis in decision-mak- ing about their heritage while supporting them with the logistics and resources necessary to carry out emergency eforts. It demonstrates one case study of how on-the-ground protection can be achieved.