Glasgow archaeologist leading effort to save Iraqi castle
Dr Claudia Glatz spoke to Clyde News about the restoration project at Qala Shirwana
A Glasgow archaeologist leading an international rescue effort to save a 19th-century Kurdish monument says all of us ought to take an interest in preserving global cultural heritage sites.
The 200-year-old Qala Shirwana in northern Iraq was badly damaged when a powerful earthquake hit the region in November last year.
The baked brick castle features prominently in the Kurdish Regional Government’s drive to bring in more tourists from overseas.
Dr Claudia Glatz, a senior lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, is leading the Qala Shirwana Cultural Heritage Project to help stabilise and restore the historic monument.
The archaeologist told Clyde News: “The castle is of great local importance. Families come to visit it almost every day, and it has around 100,000 Iraqi visitors that come to see it annually.
“Like the much-loved Scottish castles, it also hosts local festivities. There's a new year event on the 21st of March where thousands of people come to celebrate, and before ISIS came to the region in 2014 - they were about 20km away from the monument - it also hosted international cultural festivals."
Dr Glatz has just returned from a trip to the site of the damaged castle itself.
She said: “We've just come back from a visit to Iraq. We assessed the damage, did some historical research and drew up a plan for repairs.
"The first step for my colleagues on the ground is to stabilise the castle as there's structural damage to the walls and on one of the towers, all the way from the top to the bottom. The interior also needs refurbishing and restoring."
A powerful earthquake shook the Kurdish region of north-east Iraq in November 2017, with more than 500 people killed and over 7000 injured.
The castle suffered significant structural damages as the shocks dislocated walls, terraces and caused the collapse of a central cupola on the structure’s roof. The four main towers also sustained significant cracks.
The Qala Shirwana is located on the outskirts of the modern town of Kalar, one of Iraqi Kurdistan’s fast-growing urban areas.
QaSCHP is carried out in close collaboration with the staff of the Garmian Directorate of Antiquities including its Director Shwkr Muhammed Haydar; Salih Muhammad Samin (Deputy Director) and MNawzad Latif (Archaeologist) with the assistance of Glasgow-based PhD student, Neil Erskine.