Arie Amaya-Akkermans

The disappearance of cities in the Levant to conflict, natural disaster and the abyss of time, has been a part of its rich history throughout antiquity. A number of these cities have been excavated by modern archaeology, giving us a glimpse into socio-political events that led to their demise. Yet, cities in the region today continue to disappear through conflict and disaster – destroyed, abandoned and sometimes rebuilt, such as Beirut, Aleppo, Antakya and now more recently Gaza. We will look at the archaeological narratives about the destruction of a number of ancient Mediterranean settlements (Alalakh, Zincirli and Sybaris), in order to formulate a contemporary view of urbicide, and the ways in which artists have used archaeological methods to understand urban destruction in the present. With a focus on the ongoing destruction of Gaza, our archaeological gaze will be directed at the complex relations between peoples and the built environment, the violence of urbicide as a war crime and the possibilities for art and archaeology to serve as witnesses.