No abstract

The UK-based Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project uses remote sensing techniques to rapidly record and evaluate the status of archaeological and cultural heritage sites in the MENA region. Applying remote sensing methods to the archaeological landscapes of 20 countries, EAMENA is one of the largest documentation projects of its kind. Such a scope raises important ethical questions fundamental to the practice of remote-sensed archaeology, and this paper contributes to this discussion by reflecting on EAMENA's unique role in this subfield. We present ethical issues and possible solutions related to remote sensing and archaeology, drawing on models developed within the humanitarian aid sector and postcolonial archaeology. In addition, we consider issues of national sovereignty and their relationship to the engagement of local communities. Finally, this paper examines the roles of data openness and open access policies as ethical factors and how EAMENA has addressed these so far.

Remote-sensing analysis of open-source satellite imagery has identified a major, new distribution of undocumented hunting kite structures in northern Arabia. This new data has important implications on the environmental viability of hunting and on possible settlement patterns during the early and middle Holocene. Running across the eastern side of the Nafud Desert in Saudi Arabia, this research has identified star-shaped kites in a distribution that continues on to southern Iraq. From a broader perspective, this new distribution appears to represent a continuation of the well-known arc of kites recorded running principally through southern Syria and eastern Jordan. As well as representing an important archaeological identification in its own right, this new distribution also has important implications in terms of the paleoenvironment of the region, faunal dispersals and human cultural connections.

Between 1981 and 1988 a large dam was built on the River Tigris in Iraq, just upstream from the village of Eski Mosul (Balad). The dam project originally took its name from this village but was later dubbed the 'Saddam Dam' or simply 'Mosul Dam'. This project was part of a vast program of engineering undertakings involving the damming of rivers and the realization of artificial basins that has involved the whole Middle East and regions of Africa from the second half of the 20 th century onwards. It was commissioned by Saddam Hussein to provide hydro-electrical power for his country, water for downstream irrigation and industry, promote tourism, and enhance his personal prestige, as well as that of his government and nation.