Seeking Sanctuary

Abstract

AbstractThe protection of cultural heritage sites in times of war is usually traced to The Hague Conventions 1954 or the Lieber Code. We argue, however, that its roots can be discerned in the much older notion of ‘sanctuary’. To show this, we examine the historical sanctuary tradition in western Eurasia from antiquity to the Middle Ages and contrast that with the heritage protections that are codified in international humanitarian law. We argue that many sanctuaries of old continue to enjoy protection as sites of cultural heritage today. However, we also see an intriguing contrast in how the sites and their occupants are given or denied protection: heritage protection norms are ostensibly more universal but also less extensive and less absolute than the norms that governed sanctuary spaces. This opens up exciting avenues for the study of spatial protections norms, laws, and practices in the context of war and its regulation.