Diplomacy and Archaeology: Past, Present and Future

Thank you, Mr. MacAllister, for that generous introduction, and I join you in extending a special welcome to the distinguished members of the diplomatic corps present tonight, and to Senator and Mrs. Moynihan.

Let me also express my thanks to President Joe Seger, Dr. Rudy Dornemann, and all the others who worked so long and hard to organize this wonderful event.

I know something about what you went through to get here. It makes Indiana Jones's adventures look like a tea party!

On behalf of the Department of State, welcome to the Benjamin Franklin Room. The age of these beautiful objects may not overly impress this gathering, but whenever I enter here, I am reminded that we in the Department are engaged in an enterprise far greater than our individual preoccupations. I suspect that this is a familiar thought to most of you as well.

Alice and I are deeply honored to be asked to be part of your centennial celebrations, and to have the honor of welcoming you here.

My one contribution as an ardent amateur to the literature of archaeology unfortunately has only found its way into Reader's Digest and People magazine.

In early 1986 at the Sea of Galilee, when some of your colleagues were excavating an early fishing boat, a local journalist asked me to compare archaeology and diplomacy.

The best I could do was to say that archaeology was uncovering the unknown, and diplomacy almost certainly was the opposite!

Nevertheless, Alice and I both take great pride in our amateur status and our personal association with this remarkable organization. Like so many others who have breathed the excitement and dust of a major dig, we have found no other experience in the world that can provide such a combination of intellectual challenge and physical discomfort.

This evening, we celebrate not merely the centennial of a remarkable organization, but of a century of extraordinary scientific exploration. The American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) was present at the creation of an era that has profoundly transformed our understanding of the ancient worlds of the Middle East and Mediterranean.

Consider just three milestones of the last half-century in which ASOR participated: discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, recovery of ancient Petra's Nabbatean and Byzantine civilizations, and excavation of pygmy hippopotamus bones from the Neolithic era on Cyprus.

These are not simply monuments, but monumental additions to the storehouse of knowledge about a region that gave birth to civilization and shaped the Western world.

They are achievements of painstaking scholarship, creative imagination, and sheer backbreaking labor.

ASOR's individual members and member institutions have enriched the world, and transformed our understanding of it in ways that are as fundamental as Edwin Hubble's discovery that we live in an expanding universe.

At the same time, ASOR -- through its three major centers in Jerusalem, Amman, and Nicosia -- has not simply survived the ethnic and religious conflicts of the region, but served as a model of inclusive, politically neutral scholarship.

Through times of political turbulence and conflict, ASOR has built institutions of intellectual excellence -- and thereby demonstrated the power of international cooperation to achieve a common purpose.

These lessons did not pass unnoticed by the political leaders of the region, and serve as excellent models for what success in the peace process can (and has) created.

Securing a just, lasting and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace is at the center of our work at the State Department. It is never easy, and yet we can also trace how our efforts over the years have made a real difference for people throughout the region.

All tracks of the peace process are active. Israeli Prime Minister Barak was just in Washington and Chairman Arafat is scheduled to visit soon. We also are encouraged by Israel's decision to withdraw its forces completely from south Lebanon, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.

At the same time, we hope to find ways to resolve the small but significant gaps that remain between Syria and Israel. All of this demands very hard work, but we are committed to achieving peace.

You have played an historic role in America's determination to find peace in the region. Archaeology has never respected modern boundaries. Indeed, it has helped us transcend those boundaries.

Having had the pleasure of serving both in Jordan and Israel, I know that the archaeologists on both sides of the Jordan River have much to say to each other. And there is real joy in learning that old friends in the field of archaeology on both sides are now working more closely together than ever before. This kind of cooperation has helped to build the public support and backing for peace that the region so urgently needs.

With your commitment to preservation and protection of sites, fact finding, truth telling, and scientific inquiry, you embody the core values of this country, and strengthen our relationships with nations throughout the region.

This new century offers you many challenges, not the least of which is to match the achievements of your own past.

I have little doubt that ASOR's future holds many more exciting insights into our human past. They may be found in the Vasilikos Valley of Cyprus, the Madaba Plains of Jordan, the Caesarea excavations of Israel -- or most likely in many places yet unknown.

This evening, I would like to talk about several challenges, facing archaeology, especially those that intersect with diplomacy and U.S. foreign policy.

My first point is both an obvious and fundamental one: the importance of partnership. Just as ASOR's scholarly integrity can strengthen the foundations of trust among people, so the U.S. commitment to fostering dialogue can nourish the work of international researchers.

Let me give you an example, one whose last chapter has yet to be written. A collection of 10,000-year old animal bones of wild goats, cattle, gazelles, and dogs - currently resides inside drawers at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. As described in a recent National Public Radio report, they offer a striking picture of one of the most important events in human history: the Neolithic revolution that led to the invention of agriculture and domestication of animals.

The tale these bones seem to tell is that the Neolithic people, rather than having been forced by hunger into animal domestication, may have been experimenting with creative ways of managing resources and maximizing gain.

However, there is a problem: these bones were found years ago at a site in Iran that is no longer generally open to the scholarly community.

Suddenly, past and present are joined, and the political conflicts of today are inescapably connected to the lives of human beings ten centuries ago.

Two years ago, President Khatami of Iran spoke of opening a "dialogue of civilizations." Last month, Secretary Albright announced a set of major new initiatives toward Iran -- motivated, and I quote:

In taking this initiative, the United States is affirming its belief in the proposition that expanded dialogue and exchanges among nations are in everyone's interest. Make no mistake, serious political differences between the United States and Iran remain.

Nevertheless, the Secretary made clear our commitment to encourage cultural exchanges of scholars, scientists, artists, athletes, and others, to serve as a bridge between our two countries. It is not hard to imagine that this opening may one day -- soon, we hope -- lead to new opportunities for expanded archaeological research in Iran -- and a better understanding of the moment in human history when hunters became herders -- and then found the spare time to create something we now can call civilization.

But we don't need to speculate about the positive aspects of public-private partnerships in international archaeology. We have many concrete examples.

In Jordan, the United States, along with ASOR and other private donors, has provided decades of support for the excavation and preservation of one of the most evocative archaeological sites in the world -- Petra.

I take some pride in being a part of this process when some years ago we asked the Agency for International Development (USAID) to apply U.S. standards of good environmental practice. As standard procedure, our development projects now survey -- and avoid -- archaeological resources whenever possible, and conduct salvage archaeology only as a last resort.

And we found that support for archaeology in Jordan has meant support for greater economic development through enriched tourism.

So USAID over the years helped fund development of a master plan for Petra, a dam to control periodic flooding, and an innovative shelter for the display of a Byzantine mosaics. To meet the infrastructure demands of local residents and tourists, USAID is now helping fund a wastewater treatment facility for the Wadi Musa community located outside Petra.

USAID is also continuing its long partnership with the Jordan American Center of Oriental. Research (ACOR) through a grant for archaeology and site preservation not only at Petra, but also at the Madaba Archaeological Park, Aqaba, and the Citadel in Amman.

Elsewhere in the region, in Egypt, the challenge is not simply to protect archaeological sites, but to manage an unparalleled cultural heritage.

In cooperation with such institutions as the American Research Center in Egypt and the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities, USAID has helped fund conservation projects that reflect Egypt's diverse heritage. To note just a few:

• Conservation of Greco-Roman mosaics at the Kom El Dikka archaeological park in Alexandria;
• The tomb of Seti I in Luxor, the largest decorated tomb in the Valley of the Kings;
• Quseir Fort, built by Sultan Selim on the Red Sea; and
• Monasteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul, which contain Coptic wall paintings from the 13th century.

We are also providing Egyptians with training in the core archaeological disciplines of excavation, documentation, conservation, and museum management.

A second critical intersection between archaeology and diplomacy is that of protection. Whether as a nation, as scientists, or simply as a people anxious to understand our past -- we all are victimized by the looting of archaeological sites and the trafficking in illegal or stolen artifacts.

The United States was the first major art-importing country to ratify the 1970 UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property. We now have entered into agreements or taken emergency actions with eight nations to protect an array of archaeological treasures. These include:

• Khmer stone sculptures and architectural pieces from Cambodia;
• Artifacts of Canada's aboriginal cultures;
• Byzantine ecclesiastical and liturgical objects from Cyprus;
• Both pre-Columbian and colonial materials from Peru;
• Pre-Columbian objects from El Salvador;
• Mayan artifacts from Guatemala;
• Artifacts from the highland and Niger River regions of Mali; and
• Aymara Indian textiles from Bolivia.

Before the State Department reaches a decision to protect artifacts through import controls or restrictions, the foreign government's request goes before the Cultural Property Advisory Committee, which comprises distinguished experts in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, cultural property law, and museum management.

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