A deck of playing cards with messages about how U.S. troops can protect precious antiquities and archaeological sites in Iraq and Afghanistan has been created by Colorado State University and the Department of Defense.
Nearly 50,000 decks of cards are being distributed in Iraq and Afghanistan and at military installations in the United States. The playing cards are one tool in a wider effort by the Pentagon to prevent damage to ancient sites and to curb the illegal trade of stolen artifacts in Iraq.
Fort Carson has received 3,500 decks of the cards, and distributed a handful of them to environmental officers assigned to units on post.
“They just thought these were great.” said Pam Cowen, cultural resources manager for Fort Carson. “They opened them up, they were playing with them.”
At the start of the Iraq war, locals looted museums and archaeological sites, which date to as early as 9,000 B.C.
Under Saddam Hussein’s regime, looting or trafficking in antiquities was punishable by death.
“Once his regime fell, organized gangs of looters went in and took full advantage of the situation,” she said.
“They knew exactly what they were doing. Several famous archaeological sites received extensive damage. … The other famous case was the museum in Baghdad, extensively looted by people who really knew what they were going after.”
The U.S. military received a public relations black eye after a British newspaper reported that military operations caused “widespread damage and severe contamination to the remains of the ancient city of Babylon.”
The report said military vehicles crushed archaeological sites and sand and earth was removed to fill sandbags.
The Pentagon responded by developing programs to create more cultural awareness for troops. Along with the cards, a web site and training scenarios with mock archaeological sites and cemeteries have been developed.
Each card has a different image and a caption with a message. Some of the messages deal with the history of Iraq or Afghanistan, the nature of sensitive archaeological sites, or reminders that Iraq is the cradle of civilization.
“There are very attractive pictures of artifacts with admonitions to the troops to help curb looting, to help curb the trafficking in antiquities and help preserve the integrity of the archaeological sites.”
The eight of spades shows a picture of a prehistoric rock shelter that is downrange at Fort Carson.
It says: “Every DOD installation has a cultural resources manager. Call yours with questions about archaeology, history or culture.”
The cost of the program was not available Tuesday.
Erin Emery: 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com
