MCI is the lead for the Nimrud Rescue Project, a joint US-Iraqi effort to recover fragments of Neo-Assyrian sculptures targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2015-2016, and to develop a long-term plan for the preservation and use of the site and its architectural remains through capacity-building and support of Iraqi heritage professionals. MCI partners with the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and Office of International Relations to support Iraqi colleagues from the Nineveh Provincial Office of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH). Since 2017, the Project has included training in recovery methods, joint project planning to stabilize and secure endangered artifacts at the site, and two Iraqi-led stabilization and recovery missions. The project is ongoing, with plans to continue support to the Iraqi team for additional recovery and stabilization missions at the site in the coming years.
To learn more about the Nimrud Rescue Project, watch this video "Helping Recover and Preserve Cultural Heritage in Iraq" about how the Smithsonian trained the team, read this journal article "The Nimrud Rescue Project" on the effort, and watch this video "Nimrud Rescue" by Conservator Kent Severson.