Databases, Drones, Diggers, and Diplomacy: The Jordanian Request for a US Cultural Property Bilateral Agreement

Abstract

Looting of archaeological sites and thefts from cultural institutions in the Middle East is driven by an international demand for artifacts. Despite the efforts of Ministries of Culture, Departments of Antiquities, cultural heritage NGOs, and local communities, landscapes are destroyed, sites are pillaged, and museums are ransacked across the region. Like other countries, Jordan has a demand driven looting problem rooted in the legal and illegal trade in cultural material from the Middle East (Kersel 2019b). Tourists, locals, and museums desire Jordanian artifacts, often without questioning their market appearance. In addition to the standard set of approaches to physically and legally protecting their cultural heritage, Jordan recently turned to diplomatic measures to curb the illegal movement of looted and stolen materials. In order to support their request for a bilateral cultural property agreement with the United States, Jordan is using data from drones, databases, and archaeologists to prove that looting is an ongoing concern and the purloined artifacts are destined for the US. Deploying a case study based on data from drones, in the following we demonstrate the power of archaeological research in national policy formation and international diplomacy.