On July 1, 2008 The Art Newspaper reported "Archaeological sites in south Iraq have not been looted, say experts"(See Larry Rothfield's responses here and here).
Video here shows images presented on April 12, 2008, at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute Symposium Looting the Cradle of Civilization: The Loss of History in Iraq by Dr. Abdulamir Hamdani, Director of Antiquities in Nasiriya Province in southern Iraq, in his first hand account of the situation there. (Courtesy: Abdulamir Hamdani)
To view in higher resolution, click here for Quicktime 7 and here for Windows Media Player
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Firsthand account of looting in southern Iraq
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As Andrew Lawyer reports in the July 4, 2008 edition of Science, the retreat of Saddam's army in the face of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 led to a veritable orgy of looting at hundreds of archaeological sites across southern Iraq by an impoverished local population that had just experienced 12 long years of UN-mandated economic sanctions. As soon as possible, Dr. Abdel-Amir Hamdani, the director of antiquities in the Nasiriyeh region, began working with a series of American and Italian ground commanders to ensure that the most precious archaeological sites in the south were patrolled. Dr. Hamdani also traveled to Najaf to meet with the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who quickly issued a fatwa ordering his Shiite followers to stop pillaging these ancient sites. Since that time, Dr. Hamdani has dodged bullets on multiple occasions in order to complete the survey of ancient sites that have been exposed by Saddam's systematic draining of marshes in southern Iraq during the 1990s. Meanwhile, in Nasiriyeh, the antiquities department offices and adjacent museum were ransacked and the nearby library was burned in May 2004 during a clash between local militia and Italian forces who had just replaced American troops in that region. Dr. Hamdani's opposition to local developers' plans to build a dozen brick factories directly atop an archaeological site resulted in his arrest and three months' imprisonment (even though construction of the factories was a clear violation of the 2002 Iraq Antiquities Law). Eventually, the Nasiriyeh museum was renovated by the Italians. But this past spring, renewed attacks in Nasiriyeh have damaged the museum's roof and facade and destroyed vehicles used by Dr. Hamdani's staff.
After reading Andrew Lawler's report in Science and viewing Dr. Hamdani's slides presented at the Oriental Institute earlier this year, one thing remains clear: it is premature for anyone to suggest that the cultural property of southern Iraq is now even remotely secure.
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