Looters Destroying Ancient Treasures

Archaeologists say unprotected remains of country’s historic civilisations are subject to widespread plundering.

By Daud Salman in Baghdad and Berlin (ICR No. 265, 18-Jul-20008)

Experts are calling for Iraq’s archaeological sites to be protected, saying that many have been severely damaged as a result of theft, illegal excavations and trespassing.

According to the Iraqi government, the country – which was once home to Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian and other ancient empires – has around 10,000 archaeological sites.

Most are located in central Iraq, an area badly hit by the chaos and lawlessness that has gripped the country over the past several years. While some of the country’s best known Mesopotamian sites, including Ur near modern-day Nasiriyah, are well-protected, many have no security.

The Iraqi government has just 1,200 guards to keep an eye on all of its sites, said Qais Rashid Hussein, director-general of excavations and inspection at the ministry of archaeology and tourism. Hussein said the lack of protection is “a huge problem” that has left antiquities vulnerable to gangs and smugglers.

Treasure-hunters illegally excavate the sites for valuable items which can be traded on the black market and are often smuggled out of Iraq.

Margarete van Ess, director of Oriental Science at the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin, estimated that illegal excavation in Iraq has caused ten billion dollars worth of damage.

“Many of the sites are far from town centres and cities and are under the control of tribes,” she said, which made them vulnerable to theft.

While Saddam Hussein’s regime secured most of the country’s sites and cracked down heavily on theft. Those caught steeling antiquities faced 15 years in prison, and, in some cases, the death penalty. These sentences, though still on the statute books, are rarely enforced today.

On Iraq’s black market, ancient coins, seals and other gold, silver and bronze pieces can be purchased for as little as ten dollars, but the same items can fetch a far greater sum outside the country. Thousands of artefacts from Iraqi sites have ended up in neighbouring Syria and Jordan.

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