Archaeological Site Damage in the Cycle of War and Peace:: A Syrian Case Study

This article compares the damage sustained to sites in Syria during 50 years of peace with that recorded during the recent conflict. A methodology is presented to analyze peacetime site damage using remote assessment of sites on sequential satellite imagery and site damage during conflict from media sources, together with samples of the results achieved. The findings are compared to begin to draw out similarities and differences in how site damage occurs in war and peace, what factors affect it, and some of the key challenges sites now face.