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THE ILISU DAM AND THE GAP DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Project Description

Large dams for the generation of hydroelectric power or irrigation are known worldwide for their negative impacts on communities, environment and cultural heritage. The GAP development project in the southeast of Turkey involving the construction of a large number of dams and hydro-electric power plants on the rivers Tigris and Euphrates is one such example. This area around and between the two rivers is internationally renowned with evidence for our early human origins, the invention of agriculture, religious heritage of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, the frontier zone of several empires, seat of medieval dynasties and remains from the heritage of Kurdish, Armenian, Arab, Assyrian, Turkish and other peoples.

Figure 1: River Tigris at Hasankeyf in southeast Turkey. Photo: M. Ronayne

GAP has already displaced hundreds of thousands of people and had disastrous impacts on the environment and cultural heritage. The electricity and irrigation resulting from the dams is not intended to benefit the majority of the population of the region which is mostly Kurdish and living in great poverty. Women, as chief carers for their families and communities are the least consulted yet research has shown they bear the brunt of this ill-advised development. This adds to their already considerable work burden and the violence they face ıin a region where conflict continues between the Turkish security forces and Kurdish guerillas.

The Ilısu dam on the Tigris is a key element of the GAP project. It would displace up to 78,000 people, cause environmental pollution, affect downstream water-flow to communities in Iraq and Syria and cause immense cultural destruction. Since 1999 work with grassroots communities in the region as well as community and heritage organisations in Turkey and other countries has investigated and highlighted the impact of Ilısu and GAP. The documents and publications below outline some of this work, which has supported community opposition. In 2001, it contributed to halting an attempt to build the dam by a multi-national consortium and has continued to be used to oppose Ilısu since that time. In 2006, a new consortium attempted to re-start the project but the German, Austrian and Swiss governments are currently in the process of withdrawing support again.

Figure 2: Map showing the proposed location of the Ilısu dam

Figure 3: Medieval Zeynel Bey Mausoleum at Hasankeyf which would be submerged by the Ilısu dam. Photo: M. Ronayne

This work is part of an international project which aims to investigate the impact of development on communities and their heritage with a view to drawing out the connections between their case and the case of archaeology against destruction and to support development which meets their needs. A second aim is to implement and evaluate an approach to community archaeology based on mutual accountability.

Contact Details

Maggie Ronayne ( Profile)
Department of Archaeology,
School of Geography and Archaeology,
NUI, Galway.

Tel: +353 (0)91 493701
Email: maggie.ronaynenuigalway.ie

Documents

Ronayne, M and Kitchen, W. 2001. The Ilısu Dam Environmental Impact Assessment Report: Review and Critique. Submission to UK Government ( View in PDF format - 347KB)

Letters and Statements of the World Archaeological Congress on the Ilısu dam:

Letters to the British Government ( PDF Format - 406KB)
Press release following collapse of Ilisu dam consortium 2001( PDF format - 17KB)

Selected Media

China Dialogue (123KB)

The Times, London (15KB)

Ülkede Özgür Gündem, Turkey (English) (78KB)

Ülkede Özgür Gündem, Turkey (Turkish) (184KB)

BBC (External Link)

The Irish Examiner (External Link)

The Art Newspaper, UK (171KB)

The Irish Times (17KB)

Der Tagesspiegel (German) (25KB)

Associated Press (French) (12KB)

L'Unita (Italian) (2.8MB)

Los Angeles Times (External Link)

Hurriyet, Turkey (English)

Publications

Forthcoming

2011. The Cultural and Environmental Impact of Large Dams in Turkey (Turkish language), BGST press: Istanbul.

Selected Publications

2009. Commitment, objectivity and accountability to communities: priorities for 21 ^st century archaeology. Journal of the Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites

2007. The culture of caring and its destruction in the Middle East: women¹s work, water, war and archaeology. In Y. Hamilakis and P. Duke (eds), Archaeology and Capitalism. From ethics to politics, 247-265. One World Archaeology Left Coast Press, California.

2006. Archaeology against cultural destruction: the case of the Ilisu dam in the Kurdish region of Turkey. Public Archaeology 5, 223-236.

2005. The Cultural and Environmental Impact of Large Dams in Southeast Turkey. London: National University of Ireland, Galway and Kurdish Human Rights Project. 166pp. ( Book in PDF Format - 2.39MB) .

2002. The Ilisu Dam: Displacement of Communities and Destruction of Culture. London: National University of Ireland, Galway and Kurdish Human Rights Project. 211 pp.

2008. Ilýsu Barajý: Barbarlýk Ýçin Bir Anýt ^. Türkiye’nin Kürt Bölgesindeki Ilýsu Barajý Ýçin Hazýrlanan Çevresel Etki Deðerlendirmesi Raporu Güncellemesi’nin Bir Deðerlendirmesi. Translated by Ayþan Sönmez and published by BGST press online.

2006. Archaeology against cultural destruction: the case of the Ilisu dam in the Kurdish region of Turkey. Public Archaeology 5, 223-236.

2006. The Ilisu Dam: A Monument to Barbarism. Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report Update for the Ilisu Dam in the Kurdish Region of Turkey (in consultation with grassroots communities from the reservoir area and the Global Women’s Strike). ( Report in PDF Format - 965KB).

2002. The Ilisu Dam: Displacement of Communities and Destruction of Culture. London: National University of Ireland, Galway and Kurdish Human Rights Project. 211 pp.

2002. The Ilisu Dam Environmental Impact Assessment Report: Review and Critique. Public Archaeology 2, No. 2, 101-116 (with W.H. Kitchen).

2002. Large Dam Campaigns Update. World Archaeological Bulletin 16, 37-49.

2001. The Ilisu Dam in Southeast Turkey: Archaeology at Risk. Antiquity 75, 37-38 (with W.H. Kitchen).

2001. The Ilisu Dam Project in Southeast Turkey. World Archaeological Bulletin 13, 17-33.

2000. The Ilisu Dam Project in Southern Turkey. World Archaeological Bulletin 12, 7-12.

What you can do

If you are an archaeologist who specialises in any of the periods or sites affected by Ilısu and GAP and would like to offer your assistance, please get in touch by emailing maggie.ronaynenuigalway.ie

Please send letters in support of the communities and their heritage ( sample letter).

You can also publicise the situation in the media or to your own community or group. If your organisation or community would like to hear a talk on this work, please email to ask.

Department of Archaeology
National University of Ireland, Galway,
University Road, Galway, Ireland.
Phone: +353 (0) 91 492167 , Fax: +353 (0) 91 525700, E-mail Archaeology
This page was last updated Wednesday, March 30, 2011