IRAQ: Lost artifacts haunt archeologists

Five years ago this week, looters ransacked the Iraqi National Museum, stealing centuries-old artifacts that celebrated Iraq's role as the cradle of civilization. Some headlines at the time exaggerated the size of the damage, erroneously reporting 170,000 items missing. Investigators later discovered that some important artifacts, including gold jewelry from Nimrud, had been hidden at Iraq's Central Bank since the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Today, investigators say that about 15,000 pieces were either stolen in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 or went unaccounted for in the months and years before the conflict began. About half have been recovered. But the impact of the thefts -- amulets, Assyrian ivories, sculpture heads, ritual vessels and cylinder seals -- is still being felt in art circles and black markets throughout the world.

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— Johanna Neuman in Washington

Photo: Objects recovered by the police in Baghdad as of June 2004 included more than 2,000 clay tablets with cuneiform inscriptions. Credit: Micah Garen / Four Corners Media

Comments

[D Leslie]

It's true and artifacts continue to be transported out of the country every day. I was there 2004-2005. The artifacts are primarily stolen by Iraqis looking for a quick buck. They sell them to foreign soldiers for pennies. I bought 2 coins for $10.00 and gave them to the Minister of Antiquities for Iraq (I met her in Babylon) The coins it turned out were over 2,500 years old. I was a rare honest one. I could have bought a lot more from Iraqis on the street.