Colonial Williamsburg's website, history.org, was among numerous U.S. sites hit in a cyber attack attributed to the terror group ISIS.
So far, there have been no immediate threats against colonial Williamsburg.
The attack, which came on Sunday, happened after colonial Williamsburg announced it would accept Iraq`s at-risk artifacts for safekeeping until the danger has passed.
“At Colonial Williamsburg, we well know that a Nation’s past is a foundation for its future,” President Reiss said. “It was here that the idea of American independence was first established, where our founding democratic institutions were conceived, and where our foundational values of human dignity and religious and economic liberty were first given voice. All that we are today—and hope to be tomorrow—started here.
“It is the same for Iraq, a country known as the cradle of civilization for its scientific, cultural and artistic achievements—including invention of the wheel and the first alphabet—which date back 10,000 years and which continue to fascinate and inspire humanity. That legacy—indeed our common human legacy—is contained in the vessels of civilization now being destroyed by ISIS.
“As we have so many times in our past, we must resist and overcome these threats to our common humanity. The Iraqi people once suffered at the hands of despots. They continue to suffer at the hands of terrorists. If we can join with them in an effort to protect these antiquities, we can protect Iraq and the world’s collective DNA until these clouds of divisiveness and chaos pass.”
