The US Department of Defense recently called on archaeologists to take the lead in training US soldiers to protect historical sites and ruins in Afghanistan and Iraq. Laurie Rush is a military archaeologist at Fort Drum, New York. She came up with the idea for a "heritage resource preservation deck of cards"

Rush: "We thought about how great it would be to have a deck that would be devoted to culture resource and heritage issues, we also wanted to think about an item that would be worth putting in their already heavy backpack to take with them into theatre and an item they would spend some time with."

You may recall that playing cards were used earlier in the war to familiarize soldiers with the faces of Saddam Hussein and other high Baathist officials on the military's most wanted list. This new deck of cards features archaeological sites.

Spades highlight archaeological digs. The nine of spades warns helicopter pilots that rotor wash can cause damage by blowing sand against ancient rock walls. Clubs offer practical advice on how to avoid damaging ruins when setting up camp or gun installations. And hearts stand for winning hearts and minds:

Rush: "Some of them offer advice about for instance consulting elders, if you're bedding down in the immediate vicinity of an archaeological property, perhaps going to the people in the community asking where are the most important parts of this site? So that if you are digging in, you're choosing the least sensitive area to dig into."

Laurie Rush says ..there's one card in particular that gets at the overall mission:

Rush: "My personal favorite is the five of hearts. It shows a soldier holding hands with a small child and I'm not sure if it's Afghanistan or Iraq...and its says protecting archaeological sites helps preserve them for future generations."

That message is a good one says Donny George. Until recently he was the director-general of the National Museum in Baghdad. He 's credited with recovering thousands of artifacts that were looted both from the Museum and from Iraq's 12,500 archaeological sites. He likes the deck of cards idea:

George: "I mean you don't expect everyone to know everything about history of Iraq but I believe this is a very good way at least to give them first hand information."

So imagine a soldier in the field shuffling the deck .... And out comes the seven of clubs. It depicts the Ctesiphon Arch....an ancient site in Iraq that has survived for 17 centuries.

George: "This was the capital of the Persians, the Sassanians, when they were ruling Iraq, and this was palace of the king, the Persian king...and this building, the Ctesiphon Arch is the largest arch that's built by brick in the whole world until now."

The Ctesiphon Arch is also very close to the Tigris River. It's located in the modern town of El Madah'hin. The Ctesiphon arch is also the answer to our geo quiz. You can find a picture of it on any of the 40,000 decks of playing cards now being handed out by the Department of Defense. It's right on the seven of clubs.