Assessing Looting from Space: The Destruction of Early Iron Age Burials in Northern Xinjiang

Assessing Looting from Space: The Destruction of Early Iron Age Burials in Northern Xinjiang. Caspari, G. Heritage, 1(2):320–327, November, 2018.

Paper doi abstract bibtex

Burial mounds (kurgans) of the Early Iron Age in the steppe zones of Central Asia have long been the target of severe looting activities. Protection of these monuments in remote areas is difﬁcult since accurate mapping is rarely available. We map an area in northern Xinjiang using a combination of high-resolution optical data and on-ground survey to establish a quantitative and qualitative assessment of looting. We ﬁnd that at least 74.5% of burial mounds are looted or otherwise destroyed. Due to the large number of visibly impacted burial mounds, it becomes clear that the bulk of cultural heritage of the Early Iron Age in this area is under threat. The looting, however, continues until present day. Rescue excavation of potentially untouched burials in the area is advisable.

@article{caspari_assessing_2018,
	title = {Assessing {Looting} from {Space}: {The} {Destruction} of {Early} {Iron} {Age} {Burials} in {Northern} {Xinjiang}},
	volume = {1},
	issn = {2571-9408},
	shorttitle = {Assessing {Looting} from {Space}},
	url = {http://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/1/2/21},
	doi = {10.3390/heritage1020021},
	abstract = {Burial mounds (kurgans) of the Early Iron Age in the steppe zones of Central Asia have long been the target of severe looting activities. Protection of these monuments in remote areas is difﬁcult since accurate mapping is rarely available. We map an area in northern Xinjiang using a combination of high-resolution optical data and on-ground survey to establish a quantitative and qualitative assessment of looting. We ﬁnd that at least 74.5\% of burial mounds are looted or otherwise destroyed. Due to the large number of visibly impacted burial mounds, it becomes clear that the bulk of cultural heritage of the Early Iron Age in this area is under threat. The looting, however, continues until present day. Rescue excavation of potentially untouched burials in the area is advisable.},
	language = {en},
	number = {2},
	urldate = {2019-11-27},
	journal = {Heritage},
	author = {Caspari, Gino},
	month = nov,
	year = {2018},
	keywords = {China, Xinjiang, looting, satellite imagery},
	pages = {320--327}
}

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