Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare – Protect Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones

The Gap This Book Fills

Cultural heritage sites, artifacts, and traditions face unprecedented threats during armed conflicts. From deliberate destruction to collateral damage, the loss of heritage represents not just a material loss but an erasure of identity, history, and collective memory. Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare directly addresses the critical gap between heritage protection theory and actionable conflict-zone practice. This volume equips professionals, policymakers, and scholars with the interdisciplinary frameworks and real-world case studies needed to safeguard cultural property before, during, and after hostilities.

What Is Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare – Protect Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones? A Complete Overview

Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare is a 2024 edited volume published by The White Horse Press, bringing together military, academic, and heritage practitioners’ voices from across the Euro-Atlantic, North Africa, and beyond. Edited by Mark Dunkley, Lisa Mol, and Anna Tulliach, with a foreword by Tristram Hunt, the book synthesizes lessons from recent conflicts to produce actionable guidance for heritage protection. The 200-page volume features case studies that highlight interdisciplinary efforts to protect heritage in conflict zones, drawing out practical planning and preparedness strategies for those working on the front lines of cultural preservation.

Is This Book Right for You?

This book is essential reading for a diverse range of professionals and academics:

• Heritage and museum professionals seeking practical frameworks for risk assessment and emergency response in conflict-prone regions
• Military and defense personnel involved in cultural property protection (CPP) and stabilization operations
• Academic researchers and students in heritage studies, archaeology, conflict archaeology, and international law
• Policymakers and government advisors developing national and international heritage protection protocols
• Humanitarian and NGO workers engaged in post-conflict cultural recovery and reconstruction

Key Takeaways

• Interdisciplinary protection strategies: How to integrate military, academic, and heritage practitioner perspectives into a cohesive protection plan
• Risk assessment and mitigation: Proven methods for evaluating heritage vulnerability in active conflict zones
• Case studies from recent conflicts: Real-world examples from the Euro-Atlantic, North Africa, and other regions that reveal what works and what fails
• Legal and ethical frameworks: Understanding the 1954 Hague Convention and its protocols, plus emerging norms in cultural property protection
• Post-conflict recovery and reconstruction: Best practices for assessing damage, prioritizing restoration, and rebuilding community heritage identity

Why Choose This Edition

Unlike general heritage management texts or narrow military manuals, Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare occupies a unique intersection. Where books like Cultural Property Protection in Armed Conflict focus exclusively on legal frameworks, this volume delivers hands-on planning guidance grounded in real conflict experiences. Competitor works often lack the direct practitioner voice that Dunkley, Mol, and Tulliach have assembled — contributors who have actually operated in war zones. The foreword by Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, adds an authoritative institutional perspective that no other volume in this space can match. Furthermore, the book’s interdisciplinary structure — bridging military, academic, and heritage silos — makes it the single most comprehensive planning resource available for professionals who need actionable, field-tested strategies rather than abstract theory.

Author & Publisher Credentials

Mark Dunkley is a leading figure in heritage protection, with extensive experience advising military and civilian agencies on cultural property safeguarding. Lisa Mol brings expertise in heritage science and risk assessment, contributing rigorous analytical frameworks to the volume. Anna Tulliach adds depth in heritage policy and international cooperation, ensuring the book’s recommendations are grounded in both scholarship and practice. The foreword by Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and a former member of Parliament, signals the highest level of institutional endorsement. The White Horse Press, the publisher, is a respected academic publisher specializing in environmental and heritage studies, known for producing peer-reviewed works of lasting scholarly value. This combination of editorial authority, institutional backing, and rigorous academic publishing makes Heritage at War a trusted, authoritative resource.

Final Assessment

Absolutely. For any professional whose work touches cultural heritage in conflict-affected areas, this book is not just valuable — it is indispensable. The editors have curated a volume that is both intellectually rigorous and practically applicable, closing a long-standing gap in the literature. The 238 pages are dense with actionable insights, and the interdisciplinary approach ensures that readers from military, academic, and heritage backgrounds will all find relevant, usable content. At a time when heritage is increasingly weaponized in conflicts worldwide, the planning and preparedness frameworks in this book offer a timely, evidence-based path forward. Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare is a definitive resource that belongs on the shelf of every serious heritage protection professional.

Download Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare – Protect Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones Now

Whether you are a heritage professional developing emergency plans, a military officer training in cultural property protection, or a researcher seeking the latest interdisciplinary scholarship, this volume delivers the practical, authoritative guidance you need. Published in 2024 by The White Horse Press, this is the most current and comprehensive resource available on planning for heritage protection in conflict zones. Don’t wait until the next crisis — equip yourself with the knowledge and strategies that make a difference. Order your copy of Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare today and take a critical step toward safeguarding our shared cultural heritage.