[MSN] Looting of Iraq's heritage described. Former Baghdad museum official speaks at Bowers about invaluable artifacts lost to war.

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  Looting of Iraq's heritage described


    Former Baghdad museum official speaks at Bowers about invaluable
    artifacts lost to war.

Monday, October 1, 2007
By SEAN EMERY
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA – Scattered gasps spread across the Bowers Museum audience 
Sunday, as photographs of destroyed artifacts and a ransacked Iraq 
National Museum were displayed.

Many in the crowd knew of the looting of Iraq's cultural heritage during 
the chaos that ensued at the beginning of the war, but former museum 
director Dr. Donny George's firsthand account still shocked them.

George, who was the director of the Iraq National Museum at the time of 
the looting, now teaches classes at the State University of New York, 
Stony Brook. He was invited to the Bowers Museum as part of the 
“Distinguished Lecture” series.

George said the Iraqi National Museum, once the home of priceless 
literature and artifacts dating back to 3,000 B.C. looked as if a 
hurricane hit. After three days of looting, more than 120 doors were 
smashed, and computers, telephones and even light switches were stolen.

Museum staff attempted to protect as many artifacts as possible by 
placing them in a hidden cellar, but looters made off with an estimated 
15,000 artworks and artifacts, destroying larger pieces that couldn't be 
removed from the museum.

George on Sunday shared his frustration at the inability to protect 
Iraq's cultural heritage, and at the impact of the violence that 
followed in the wake of Saddam Hussein's removal at Sunday's presentation.

Since his early years growing up in Iraq, George was drawn to 
archaeology, joining the Iraq Museum in 1976. Despite the inherent 
danger, he resolved not to leave the museum, even as American tanks 
approached from two directions.

However, once civilians entered the museum grounds and began shooting at 
American forces, George realized they would be caught in the crossfire. 
With a helicopter gunship hovering above, the remaining museum officials 
escaped through a back door.

Protection didn't arrive for days, George said, leaving museum leaders 
afraid that waves of looters would return to burn the building down.

Officials realized that there was more behind the looting than random 
violence. Within days the artifacts began surfacing in Europe and the 
United States.

The loss of artifacts wasn't limited to the museum, with looters 
descending on archaeological sites as well. Overhead photos show 
thousands of pits dug next to the carefully excavated sites.

“What happened to the archaeological sites is the most dangerous thing,” 
George said, because the loss cannot even be measured.

Efforts to track down the artifacts began immediately, often with the 
assistance of Iraqi citizens.

Iraqis have returned thousands of items taken from the museum and 
archaeological sites, George said. Approximately 3,700 museum pieces 
were recovered – about half of what was taken – and more than 16,000 
pieces from archaeological sites.

Officials temporarily sealed the museum off after the transfer of power 
to the Iraqi government in 2004, George said, then closed them 
permanently after a mass kidnapping took place nearby.

George, a Christian, left his post, and the country, last year, 
following threats from Muslim fundamentalists. He also claims that he 
was stripped of his position by the new Iraqi leadership, who he says 
wanted a Muslim in the position. Iraqi leaders have denied the accusations.

George is still actively tracking the missing Iraqi artifacts, many of 
which are being held outside of the country.

“It's very hard when you know people are dying every day and you are 
fighting for antiquities,” George said. “(But) it must be a priority 
because it is the wealth of the people. It's the memory and cultural 
heritage of mankind.”

“It is encouraging to see that some of it is coming back,” Jeanne Case said.

http://www.ocregister.com/