Iraq gets back looted ancient artifacts from US, others
Over 17,000 looted ancient artifacts recovered from the United States and other countries were handed over to Iraq's Culture Ministry on Tuesday, a restitution described by the government as the largest in the country's history.
The majority of the artifacts date back 4,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia and were recovered from the U.S. in a recent trip by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Other pieces were also returned from Japan, Netherlands and Italy, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in a joint press conference with Culture Minister Hasan Nadhim.
Nadhim said the recovery was "the largest in the history of Iraq" and the product of months of effort between the government and Iraq's Embassy in Washington.
"There's still a lot of work ahead in this matter. There are still thousands of Iraqi artifacts smuggled outside the country," he said. "The United Nations resolutions are supporting us in the international community and the laws of other countries in which these artifacts are smuggled to are on our side."
"The smugglers are being trapped day after day by these laws and forced to hand over these artifacts," he added.
The artifacts were handed over to the Culture Ministry in large wooden crates. A few were displayed but the ministry said the most significant pieces will be examined and later displayed to the public in Iraq's National Museum.
Iraq's antiquities have been looted throughout decades of war and instability since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraq's government has been slowly recovering the plundered antiquities since. However, archaeological sites across the country continue to be neglected owing to lack of funds.
At least five shipments of antiquities and documents have been returned to Iraq's museum since 2016, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Let us know if there is a problem with our content
Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page.
For general inquiries, please use our contact form.
For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines).
Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors
Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.
Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience
We keep our content available to everyone.
Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process
and policies.
Editors
have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
Phys.org™ is a leading web-based science, research and technology news service which covers a full range of topics.
Phys.org is a part of Science X network.
With a global reach of over 10 million monthly readers and featuring dedicated websites for science (Phys.org),
technology (Tech Xplore) and medical research (Medical Xpress),
the Science X network is one of the largest online communities for science-minded people.