Melina Mercouri Quotes

Saddam Hussein was fascinated by ancient Babylon and Assyria. He made money available to protect and develop the great archaeological sites. The great achievements of Mesopotamian civilisation were pressed into the service of the Ba'athist regime.

Typically, an historic site is considered by the National Park Service to contain a single historical feature, while generally a National Historic Park extends beyond single properties or buildings.

It is very difficult to hang onto the relics of history.

Hold those things that tell your history and protect them.

We live in what virtually amounts to a museum - which does not happen to a lot of people.

Antiquities are history defaced, or some remnants of history which have casually escaped the shipwreck of time.

I think archaeologists are stuck, and we are losing our past at a very rapid rate. Tens of thousands of sites will be lost, and we've only unveiled a tiny percent of the past.

An important part of what the state does is preserving its history.

The White House is the people's house. When you do historical restoration, that must be what it is.

A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, and economic legacies - all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.

And one cannot discharge the duty of loyalty without the patient and an open minded study of the institution that marked the country and defined its character.

It may not be art, but it is history.

Awaken a feeling that our ancient buildings are not mere ecclesiastical toys, but sacred monuments of the nation's growth and hope.

Millions of dollars have been expended to excavate and transport to museums the tools, weapons, and other artifacts of Indians--but scarcely a penny has been spent to save the living descendants of those who made them

Antiques exist as evidence of the cultural tracks we made in the past.

The undiscovered places that are interesting to me are these places that contain bits of our disappearing history, like a ghost town.

Looting has an immense impact on our ability to understand our global cultural heritage; once these objects are gone, so too is our chance of piecing together humanity's shared story.

We want to excite the world about what's out there. But we don't want them to say, 'Oh, there are lots of sites in Egypt - let's loot.'

People looked up to us for our values and leadership. But today, they laugh as we are busy debating whether one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, was actually built by Indians.

Ancient monuments 300 to 1000-plus years old are never 'renovated,' only 'restored,' a distinction that escapes the babus.

Our efforts to preserve and protect the Alamo are first and foremost about preserving and protecting the story of the battle itself.

To be at the forefront of something that can spark a major change as far as kids going to an HBCU and learning about our history and learning about our culture and learning about our ancestors, where we came from - that's a big thing, that's a really big thing.

I mean, the Globe is the most famous theater in the western world. The British have absolutely neglected it. It's an embarrassment to them that they haven't done anything about it.

Just as a fossil is 'petrified time,' so is an ancient artifact or text.

Federal support for Morristown National Historic Park and the inclusion of additional lands present a unique opportunity for our government to express its commitment to preserving our past. Failing to do so may allow these historically important lands to go unprotected.