Juan Alsace (right), an embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team leader, examines a piece of clay pottery found at the Sobbar Abu Habba historical site near Mahmudiyah, Nov. 4. Alsace joined Soldiers of the 120th Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and officials from the Iraq Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism to survey ancient historical sites to build protective fences to discourage looters. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles

What may look like large, weathered mounds of dirt in rural farmland near Mahmudiyah are actually artifact-filled ruins of an ancient civilization.

Soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard’s 120th Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, surveyed the sites, here, recently, with officials from the Government of Iraq’s Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism to examine ways to preserve and protect two ancient Sumerian sites from looters.

The complexes of dirt mounds — Tal Aldair and Sobbar Abu Habba — were once Sumerian city walls outside of what is today Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad. Pottery and clay tablets with the world’s first form of writing, Cuneiform, are known to be in the mounds. The Sumerian culture is the oldest civilization in the world, dating back to the 6th century B.C.

“It’s for the world and not just Iraq to preserve these world heritage sites because a lot of folks know it as the cradle of civilization,” said Morrison. “These [Sumerians] were the first people we know of in history to be able to write and keep records and those are the kinds of artifacts that are here today.”

The sites have already seen looting, and the GoI officials and archaeologists want to prevent more plundering by erecting security fences and a guard shack at the mounds.

“It has been identified as one of those sites that have been an easy target for looters over the years because of close proximity to Baghdad and because of turbulence in Iraq’s history,” said Maj. Charles Morrison, executive officer for the 120th CAB. “We’re working with the Ministry to secure the site for preservation and future excavation. It’s important for the Iraqi people, especially to preserve their heritage.”

Morrison, an infantry officer from Nashville, N.C., is taking a lead in the project. A self-described history buff, Morrison formerly worked for the North Carolina of Archives and History. He said he is particularly interested in helping the Iraqis preserve a site that is 4,000 years old.

Nouri Obeyd Kathem, an archaeologist with the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, led Morrison over the mounds. Thousands of years of erosion have worn down the once city walls and temple structures, exposing countless pieces of clay pottery and other artifacts. Many more are still buried in the centuries-old mounds.

“They have been with us today to make sure we don’t damage any of the archaeological sites when we emplace the fence and scope of work,” said Morrison. “We’re trying to work hand in hand with the government to make sure we do what they want in terms of preserving the site.”

The plans call for security fences and possibly guard shacks to protect the sites. Signs would also be erected to let Iraqis know about the historical significance of the sites.

One of the legacies American Soldiers can leave behind in Iraq as the troop drawdown continues is a fence that will help preserve an ancient site that will continue to be a symbol of the nation’s ancient history and culture.

Story by Sgt. Jon Soles
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Nouri Obeyd Kathem -left-, an archaeologist with the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, explains the Sobbar Abu Habba site, Nov. 4, to Maj. Charles Morrison of Nashville, N.C., -center- and Capt. Ross Boyce of Chapel Hill, N.C. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles

What may look like large, weathered mounds of dirt in rural farmland near Mahmudiyah are actually artifact-filled ruins of an ancient civilization.

Soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard’s 120th Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, surveyed the sites, here, recently, with officials from the Government of Iraq’s Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism to examine ways to preserve and protect two ancient Sumerian sites from looters.

The complexes of dirt mounds – Tal Aldair and Sobbar Abu Habba – were once Sumerian city walls outside of what is today Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad. Pottery and clay tablets with the world’s first form of writing, Cuneiform, are known to be in the mounds. The Sumerian culture is the oldest civilization in the world, dating back to the 6th century B.C.

“It’s for the world and not just Iraq to preserve these world heritage sites because a lot of folks know it as the cradle of civilization,” said Morrison. “These [Sumerians] were the first people we know of in history to be able to write and keep records and those are the kinds of artifacts that are here today.”

The sites have already seen looting, and the GoI officials and archaeologists want to prevent more plundering by erecting security fences and a guard shack at the mounds.

“It has been identified as one of those sites that have been an easy target for looters over the years because of close proximity to Baghdad and because of turbulence in Iraq’s history,” said Maj. Charles Morrison, executive officer for the 120th CAB. “We’re working with the Ministry to secure the site for preservation and future excavation. It’s important for the Iraqi people, especially to preserve their heritage.”

Morrison, an infantry officer from Nashville, N.C., is taking a lead in the project. A self-described history buff, Morrison formerly worked for the North Carolina of Archives and History. He said he is particularly interested in helping the Iraqis preserve a site that is 4,000 years old.

Nouri Obeyd Kathem, an archaeologist with the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, led Morrison over the mounds. Thousands of years of erosion have worn down the once city walls and temple structures, exposing countless pieces of clay pottery and other artifacts. Many more are still buried in the centuries-old mounds.

“They have been with us today to make sure we don’t damage any of the archaeological sites when we emplace the fence and scope of work,” said Morrison. “We’re trying to work hand in hand with the government to make sure we do what they want in terms of preserving the site.”

The plans call for security fences and possibly guard shacks to protect the sites. Signs would also be erected to let Iraqis know about the historical significance of the sites.

One of the legacies American Soldiers can leave behind in Iraq as the troop drawdown continues is a fence that will help preserve an ancient site that will continue to be a symbol of the nation’s ancient history and culture.

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Jon Soles

Capt. Bobby Lumsden, of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., (left) and 1st Lt. Joel Pierce (right), of Thomasville, N.C., advise Rafea Abass Ali (center) about the placement of steel beams supporting a rooftop cooling tower on the poultry processing plant Ali owns near Mahmudiyah, Oct. 31. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles

U.S. Soldiers lent their agriculture and engineering expertise, Oct. 31, to help bring a chicken processing plant into operation; one that will provide food and jobs.

North Carolina Guardsmen with 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, who have agribusiness and engineering backgrounds, visited the al-Kien plant near Mahmudiyah to offer advice and seek ways to help the plant begin operations.

Capt. Bobby Lumsden, the battalion’s operations officer, walked through the plant with owner Rafea Abass Ali to inspect the plant’s machinery and the massive coolers that will help keep poultry fresh. Getting the plant up and running will not only create a market for fresh chicken in the area, but will also give farmers a place to sell their chickens.

“This will be the only factory in the area with fresh frozen chicken,” said Lumsden, a native of Fuquay-Varina, N.C. “Iraqis want very fresh chicken, but their choices right now are canned chicken or chicken that is imported.”

The plant has the capacity to process 10,000 chickens a month and can employ up to 150 workers. Lumsden said the plant could boost the local economy and attract other investors to the area.

“It will open up this area for more agribusiness and, as we have studied, agribusiness brings more industry and factories,” said Lumsden. “It will be the first step in the process to bring economic improvement to this whole area.”

As Lumsden checked out the plant, he had help from two subject matter experts in engineering and agriculture.

1st Lt. Joel Pierce is an engineering officer who owns a contracting company back home in Thomasville, N.C., and 2nd Lt. James Bowden, of Siler City, N.C., grew up on a large industrialized poultry farm.

What the officers discovered was that the only chicken hatchery in the area does not produce enough hens to meet the demand of hundreds of farmers in the area. They also discovered some improperly installed steel beams that are bending under the weight of cooling towers on the roof of the plant.

“There were issues about the structure supporting the cooling tower,” said Lumsden. “They can operate right now, but they need to fix the I-beams and the ice machine.”

Lumsden said the American Soldiers will continue to work with the Iraqis to help get the plant up and running. He said he hopes to see the plant processing chickens by the time the 30th HBCT redeploys in a few months.

“Time and time again, an economy has a proven to be the ultimate stabilizer in any country,” said Lumsden. “This will be a great increase to the economy in the area by providing jobs and having an outlet for the farmers’ products.”

The al-Kien plant has come a long way and is close to beginning operations. The expertise offered by the National Guard Soldiers will help sow the seeds of peace and stability by increasing food choices and bringing jobs to Mahmudiyah.

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Story by Sgt. Jon Soles

Capt. Sara Woods, chief of Civil Affairs Team 31, unscrews a lid to check a water pump filter in a sunflower field near Mahmudiyah, Iraq, Aug. 9. Woods, of Janesville, Minn., is attached to Company B, 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Brigade Combat Team. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles

Capt. Sara Woods calls it “sweet water;” the clean, potable ground water that hides under the dusty farmland at a depth of about 20 meters. That sweet water is the key to helping rural Iraqis enjoy greater health and more productive livestock.

Woods is the chief of Civil Affairs Team 31, currently attached to the North Carolina National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and her job is to help Iraqis help themselves by setting up wells and teaching them how to operate them.

The civil affairs team, and a platoon of infantrymen providing security, visited well sites near Mahmudiyah, here, Aug. 9, to check on their condition and level of use by local farm families.

“What [a well] does is provide everyone with clean drinking water, for people and animals; for an entire cluster of farm families,” said Woods, a native of Janesville, Minn. “From the well, all the families can come in and get good drinking water.”

Woods said the alternative to the well water is canal water, or water from wells that are too shallow.

“Right now most of them are pretty much drinking straight canal water. It’s dirty, it’s contaminated and it’s salty,” said Woods. “People get sick, the kids are sick and babies are born with birth defects; it’s absolutely terrible.”

This well in Mahmudiyah was built by the civil affairs team and an embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team. When the Soldiers came to check on it, they found the well in good working order and utilized by about 15 families and cattle. The North Carolina National Guardsmen have plans to build more wells capable of providing water for dozens of families, according to Woods.

“The larger-scale concept that the 120th [Inf. Regt.] is looking at puts out 1,500 liters an hour and would service about 30 to 50 families,” said Woods. “It’s ideal for out in these rural areas where you’re not going to get a city network running to you.”

Beside the well, a milk cow and her calf stood under a shade tree. Woods pointed out that the cow and her calf looked much healthier since they started drinking clean water from the new well. Cows drinking the dirty water often have shrunken udders that do not produce much milk.

“She can’t even stand up straight she’s got so much milk in her udders and that comes from drinking good water and not that really nasty salty water,” said Woods. “That cow is going to produce phenomenal amounts of milk for the family.”

In order for the wells to work properly, they need to be deep enough to tap into clean water, said Woods. Filters clean remaining contaminants or salt from the water.

“That 20-meter aquifer we have to hit is ideal because it’s got the lowest salt content and the least amount of contaminants,” said Woods. “There are two other aquifers at 6 and 12 meters and they (Iraqis) stop there because they think it’s good, when all they’ve got to do is put in a little more elbow grease and hit that 20 meter aquifer.”

Something as simple as a new well helps the community and builds self-sufficiency in many different ways, according to Woods.

“You’re decreasing illnesses and the problems the kids and the families have from drinking polluted canal water,” said Woods. “And you are giving it to the milk cows, which means the farmers have more milk to take to the market to make products, and it builds the dairy industry up and it provides for the folks in the area.”

As the Soldiers of the 1st Bn., 120th Inf. Regt., continue to pursue the well project that provide clean drinking water, they can help Iraqi families extract better health and economic prosperity from the dry, dusty farmland.

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Story by Sgt. Jon Soles