Neglect, Not Looting, Threatens Iraq's Ancient Sites
source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080812-iraq-looting-missions.html
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- pilgrimperks
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From the report: Fears of the continued plunder of ancient antiquities in war-torn Iraq may be laid to rest, according to a new survey of eight of the most important archaeological sites in the south of the country.
An international team of scholars who visited the historic sites in June found no obvious evidence of recent looting, according to a report recently published by the British Museum in London.
The findings came as a surprise to antiquities experts and scholars who had expected continued destruction of Iraqi heritage sites after the U.S. invaded in 2003.
"We didn't see any new looting at the eight sites, which was really very, very encouraging," said team member Elizabeth Stone, a Mesopotamia specialist from Stony Brook University in New York.
While the study team cautions that the situation may be very different elsewhere in Iraq, the findings suggest a dramatically improved situation at the eight locations since 2003, when widespread illegal digging was recorded in the region.
The survey, however, uncovered other significant damage to ancient Mesopotamian monuments caused by neglect and military activity.
Paul Collins, curator of later Mesopotamian collections at the British Museum, stresses that the study gives only a limited snapshot of the current situation in Iraq.
"It's just eight sites out of tens of thousands of archaeological sites, most of them unexplored," he said.
Similar surveys need to be undertaken across Iraq to "really get a picture of what did happen and what the situation is now," he added.
--follow link for full article--
An international team of scholars who visited the historic sites in June found no obvious evidence of recent looting, according to a report recently published by the British Museum in London.
The findings came as a surprise to antiquities experts and scholars who had expected continued destruction of Iraqi heritage sites after the U.S. invaded in 2003.
"We didn't see any new looting at the eight sites, which was really very, very encouraging," said team member Elizabeth Stone, a Mesopotamia specialist from Stony Brook University in New York.
While the study team cautions that the situation may be very different elsewhere in Iraq, the findings suggest a dramatically improved situation at the eight locations since 2003, when widespread illegal digging was recorded in the region.
The survey, however, uncovered other significant damage to ancient Mesopotamian monuments caused by neglect and military activity.
Paul Collins, curator of later Mesopotamian collections at the British Museum, stresses that the study gives only a limited snapshot of the current situation in Iraq.
"It's just eight sites out of tens of thousands of archaeological sites, most of them unexplored," he said.
Similar surveys need to be undertaken across Iraq to "really get a picture of what did happen and what the situation is now," he added.
--follow link for full article--
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Brockie
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In the middle of a war these things always take a back seat.
- 3 years ago
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Brockie
