Iraqi treasures lost to sandstorms - 5th May 2023

Iraq's multiple sites of rich cultural heritage are now under threat from sandstorms caused by climate change. The region was once home to some of the world's earliest civilisations. However, ancient Sumerian and Babylonian treasures, once excavated by experts, are now being re-covered by the sand.

Historically, the main risk to the Sumerian site of Umm al-Aqarib was the theft of ancient artefacts, but now, archaeologist Aqueel al-Mansrawi states that the dry conditions and the absence of crops are having a shocking impact.

Aqeel al-Mansrawi: "The recent climate changes greatly affected this site, so we see that quicksand began to cover this site. Large parts of this site were covered by quicksand as a result of drought and lack of cultivation in surrounding areas."

The UN reports that Iraq's one of the five countries most severely impacted by the changing climate. With summer temperatures hitting over 50 degrees Celsius, farmers have abandoned the land. The lack of vegetation means that the soil becomes increasingly dusty and unhealthy. The small amount of water that exists soon evaporates into the air, leaving salt deposits. These are then driven onto the precious sites by the sandstorms, causing chemical erosion.

Planting a green belt of trees around the Sumerian complex is one potential way to slow down the erosion and limit the sandstorms, but Mansrawi isn't too optimistic.

Aqeel al-Mansrawi: "With this massive increase of quicksand in this area, it will probably cover in the next 10 years, 80 to 90% of these sites. Even in the future, if excavation missions want to work in those sites, additional efforts will be needed to reveal some ruins."

The remains of these unique civilisations, some over 4,000 years old, risk disappearing once more under the fine desert sand.