Editing Nineveh (section)

== Threats to the site ==
The site of Nineveh is exposed to decay of its [[reliefs]] by a lack of proper protective roofing, vandalism and looting holes dug into chamber floors.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0611_030611_iraqlootingreport2.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040215202713/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0611_030611_iraqlootingreport2.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=February 15, 2004
|title= Cultural Assessment of Iraq: The State of Sites and Museums in Northern Iraq – Nineveh
|publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] News
|date=May 2003}}</ref> Future preservation is further compromised by the site's proximity to expanding suburbs.

The ailing [[Mosul Dam]] is a persistent threat to Nineveh as well as the city of Mosul. This is in no small part due to years of disrepair (in 2006, the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] cited it as the most dangerous dam in the world), the cancellation of a second dam project in the 1980s to act as flood relief in case of failure, and occupation by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL]] in 2014 resulting in fleeing workers and stolen equipment. If the dam fails, the entire site could be under as much as 45 feet (14&nbsp;m) of water.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Borger|first1=Julian|title=Mosul dam engineers warn it could fail at any time, killing 1m people|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/02/mosul-dam-engineers-warn-it-could-fail-at-any-time-killing-1m-people|website=The Guardian|date=2 March 2016|publisher=guardian.co.uk|access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref>

In an October 2010 report titled ''[[Saving Our Vanishing Heritage]]'', [[Global Heritage Fund]] named Nineveh one of 12 sites most "on the verge" of irreparable destruction and loss, citing insufficient management, development pressures and looting as primary causes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://globalheritagefund.org/index.php/what_we_do/sites_on_the_verge/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820022935/http://globalheritagefund.org/index.php/what_we_do/sites_on_the_verge/|url-status=dead|title=Globalheritagefund.org|archive-date=August 20, 2012}}</ref>

A major threat to Nineveh has been purposeful human actions by ISIL or Daesh, which occupied the area between 2014 and 2017. In early 2015, they first announced their intention to destroy the walls of Nineveh if the Iraqis tried to liberate the city and they also threatened to destroy artifacts and the destruction of archaeological heritage.<ref>https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/F029E61E21EEAF19BB4648F634F57EB2/S0003598X2200014Xa.pdf/div-class-title-remote-sensing-and-ground-survey-of-archaeological-damage-and-destruction-at-nineveh-during-the-isis-occupation-div.pdf</ref> On February 26 2015, video footage shows [[Islamic State|IS]] smashing statues and artifacts at the [[Mosul Museum]].<ref>https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/F029E61E21EEAF19BB4648F634F57EB2/S0003598X2200014Xa.pdf/div-class-title-remote-sensing-and-ground-survey-of-archaeological-damage-and-destruction-at-nineveh-during-the-isis-occupation-div.pdf</ref> They are believed to have plundered others to sell overseas. The items were mostly from the Assyrian exhibit, which Daesh declared [[Islam and blasphemy|blasphemous]] and [[Idolatry#Islam|idolatrous]]. There were 300 items remaining in the museum out of a total of 1,900, with the other 1,600 being taken to the [[National Museum of Iraq]] in [[Baghdad]] for security reasons prior to the 2014 [[Fall of Mosul]].{{according to whom|date=June 2016}} Some of the artifacts sold and/or destroyed were from Nineveh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-isis-militants-pledge-to-destroy-remaining-archaeological-treasures-in-nimrud-10076133.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-isis-militants-pledge-to-destroy-remaining-archaeological-treasures-in-nimrud-10076133.html |archive-date=2022-06-21 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Iraq: Isis militants pledge to destroy remaining archaeological|date=February 27, 2015|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/26/isil-seen-in-new-video-destroying-7th-century-artifacts.html|title=ISIL video shows destruction of 7th century artifacts|website=america.aljazeera.com}}</ref> Just a few days after the destruction of the museum pieces, Daesh terrorists demolished parts of three other major UNESCO world heritage sites, [[Khorsabad]], [[Nimrud]] and [[Hatra]]. In 2016, Daesh effectively destroyed the Adad Gate (along with the adjoining northern city walls, now cleared by the Iraqi-Italian expedition thanks to the support of the Kaplan Fund), as well as the Mashki Gate (along with the eastern fortifications. The Mashki Gate is in the process of being restored).<ref name="heritagedaily">{{cite web |last1=Milligan |first1=Mark |title=Archaeologists uncover 2,700-year-old intricate rock carvings in ancient Nineveh |url=https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/11/archaeologists-uncover-2700-year-old-intricate-rock-carvings-in-ancient-nineveh/145124 |website=Heritage Daily |date=3 November 2022 |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref> Daesh also called for intensive new housing in the Kuyunjiq part and opened a large road across the southern part of the site (currently known as Al Asady Road).

After the cultural destruction and between 2014-2019, international efforts by archeologists began recording, evaluating and monitoring the damage and destruction inflicted on sensitive archaeological contexts in Nineveh, using satellite-based [[remote sensing]].<ref>https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/F029E61E21EEAF19BB4648F634F57EB2/S0003598X2200014Xa.pdf/div-class-title-remote-sensing-and-ground-survey-of-archaeological-damage-and-destruction-at-nineveh-during-the-isis-occupation-div.pdf</ref> The results found that a few high-profile acts of deliberate vandalism were accompanied by much more extensive damage caused by construction and rubbish dumping extending across substantial parts of the site.<ref>https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/F029E61E21EEAF19BB4648F634F57EB2/S0003598X2200014Xa.pdf/div-class-title-remote-sensing-and-ground-survey-of-archaeological-damage-and-destruction-at-nineveh-during-the-isis-occupation-div.pdf</ref>

Thanks to the activities of the Iraqi-Italian expedition, an archaeological park has been opened at Kuyunjiq since 2023: tourists enter from the Adad gate, subsequently visiting the small Neo-Assyrian palace where the cuneiform library was discovered in 2021 and may then relax in the VW Foundation-funded [https://site.unibo.it/kalam/en/activities/task-3 KALAM mudbrick information center] nearby. The site is still endangered, however, with dumping of debris, illegal settlements and economic activities (such as illegal generators for electricity, pipe companies etc.) as the main threats.