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Prominent Iraqi Architect Rifat Chadirji Passes Away

The "father" of Iraqi modern architecture, Rifat Chadirji, died late on April 10 in the United Kingdom after contracting the novel coronavirus, friends and Iraqi officials said. (File/AFP/Joseph Eid)
The "father" of Iraqi modern architecture, Rifat Chadirji, died late on April 10 in the United Kingdom after contracting the novel coronavirus, friends and Iraqi officials said. (File/AFP/Joseph Eid)
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Prominent Iraqi Architect Rifat Chadirji Passes Away

The "father" of Iraqi modern architecture, Rifat Chadirji, died late on April 10 in the United Kingdom after contracting the novel coronavirus, friends and Iraqi officials said. (File/AFP/Joseph Eid)
The "father" of Iraqi modern architecture, Rifat Chadirji, died late on April 10 in the United Kingdom after contracting the novel coronavirus, friends and Iraqi officials said. (File/AFP/Joseph Eid)

Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji has died in London at the of age 93.

Only those who are familiar of his achievements know the print that Chadirji has left behind in architecture.

Most Iraqis remember the masterpiece he designed in 1959, the original Unknown Soldier Monument, which was demolished in 1982 and then replaced with a statue of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

He also designed another famous masterpiece, the Monument of Freedom which he worked on in 1961.

He was a member of the Modern Baghdad Group, founded in 1951 by well known artists like Jawad Saleem, Mohammed Ghani Hikmat and Shakir Hassan Al Said.

Also known as an accomplished photographer, Chadirji only stopped making photography lectures in the past years due to illness.

He issued a number of books that reflect his vision in architecture, noting that his writing skills were manifested in the memoirs and biography that he wrote.

Despite being a harsh critic, Chadirji was a humble person who welcome his friends' opinions over his work and was open to logical ideas suggested upon him.

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Varieties

Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
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Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci

Archaeologists working on the shores of Ohrid Lake in Albania are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake, finding evidence of an organized hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day about three meters (9.8 feet) underwater, painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses.

The are also collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings.

Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years.

"Because it is under water, the organic material is well-preserved and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said.

Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years.

The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people.

It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of work.

Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe.

"They were still doing hunting and collecting things but the stable income for the nutrition was coming from the agriculture," he said.

Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area.

"(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said.