Culture | February 23, 2009 | 4 comments

Iraq reopens looted national museum

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/02/2009223113058162790.html

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abbym0308
Six years after Iraq's national museum was ransacked by looters in the aftermath of the US-led invasion, a small ceremony was held to mark the reopening of the museum to the public. About 6,000 of an estimated 15,000 that statues and artifacts were stolen from the museum have been returned. The former director of the Iraq Museum accused the US forces of committing "the crime of the century" by not intervening in the looting. It's promising to know that at least some of the antiquities have been returned.
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    Culture,   Art and Style,   Art
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4 comments // Iraq reopens looted national museum

  • thewarnerla
  • nazbags
    • 0
      nazbags  

    • The US should be disgusted by their involvement - or, I guess, lack thereof - in this. Keeping national artifacts on display for the public is vital, I think to preserving a country's culture and instilling an appreciation for the past in a people.

    • 3 years ago
  • SW2
    • 0
      SW2  

    • It highlights one of the biggest problems with the Iraq war for me, the lack of any semblance of a plan once the invasion had finished.

      We are talking about national identity and the Iraqi people are far more than the oil plants that we sought to protect. How would we all feel if our national treasures were destroyed versus say an office block?

    • 3 years ago
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  

    • Hopefully most of it will be returned.
      But I have mixed feelings about keeping the artifacts in one place because touring limits the viability of the artifacts to people that can afford to travel to see them.
      I was first drawn to history by a moldy old book in the library about Carter and King Tut's tomb. Yes, England benefited but tomb robbers were causing things to be permanently destroyed and no one was bothering to protect them.
      Future archeologists may miss their calling by not being introduced to artifacts and their powerful history.
      I remember decades ago seeing a "mummy' with alot of other 'preserved' bodies(like bog people) but unlike any of the other ones this one imediately stopped me and I said to my future husband this man does not belong here (in a glass case in front of a window overlooking Niagara Falls) this man is an important man from Egypt's past. The positioning of his arms, the profile of his face...it screamed Pharoh.
      That was in the late 70's.
      The mummy is now back in Egypt and has been proven to be one of the Ramsees'. In the time he was traveling he was taken care of and many people saw him (including me) and I can't describe to you how profound the effect was on me. My husband could have run for the hills thinking this chick's nuts, this is a cheap thrills tourist attraction but he was a history lover also and believed me.
      The point is respectfully exposing more people to artifacts can help more people have respect for other cultures and their histories.

    • 3 years ago
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