Blog Post Image: For archaeologists, Middle East conflicts create ‘perfect sandstorm’ of challenges

Abbas Alizadeh, senior research associate at the Oriental Institute, holds a piece of spent ammunition from the top of the mound of Surezha. The mound, located in the Erbil province of northern Iraq, had been used as an antiaircraft emplacement during the Iran-Iraq war. Image courtesy of Gil Stein/Oriental Institute