Usually, I do not read the newspaper in the morning. I think it is a wise decision, because some weeks ago I read an article in the New York Times, while having my breakfast. The story stuck with me for the whole day. The headline said: “Looting Art Of Ukraine Is an Attack On Identity”. Reading these words made me feel a familiar sadness; it might as well have been a headline about Iraq from 2003. I can relate to the pain of war and loss very much.
I remembered the days that followed the fall of Baghdad. The US army didn’t secure any governmental buildings but stood still watching the frustrated people loot and damage them. In some cases, the US soldiers even participated in the act themselves. The only building they found worthy of immediate protection was the ministry of oil.
The world watched as Iraqis, who had suffered 13 years of embargo and three exhausting wars, rushed into banks, ministries, museums, and other buildings to grab what their hands could reach, while the American soldiers were laughing and shouting “Come in Ali Baba. Yalla, yalla!”
Whilst the plundered items from most of the buildings were mainly furniture, money and documents, the national museum was robbed of irreplaceable pieces of Iraq’s history and human heritage.
In the time I was living in Baghdad, the museum, which was officially opened in 1966, was closed most of the time due to the wars. The artifacts were stored in the basement, to save them from bombings. I only had the chance to visit the museum once. I was fortunate enough to get a special tour from our Austrian archaeologist friend Prof. Helga, when it re-opened between 1989 and 1990. Hearing her description, seeing the beauty of the ancient arts, and being in the middle of 7000 years of human history, made it an unforgettable experience. My visit was crowned by the moment I saw the treasure of Nimrud’s Queens: A breath-taking collection of gold crowns, seals, and more. One of the two pieces I liked most was a delicate marble vase that was so thin, it almost looked transparent. I wondered how it remained preserved, since about 700 BC. The second one was a pendant with a colourful palm tree motive. This treasure was displayed only for a brief time and was later stored in the national bank during the embargo and the years that followed. Fortunately, it survived the lootings.
In April 2003, I had a totally different unforgettable experience. The pictures we saw on TV were both scary and sad. There was a big hole in the beautiful Assyrian gate facade caused by a US tank. In front of it, a sandy and muddy mess instead of what used to be an asphalt street leading to the entrance. A crowd of people was storming into the building and destroying the showcases to take whatever they were able to carry, with no regard to the harm they were causing to their own heritage.
We had friends working at the museum and in the archaeological sector. Their reports were heart breaking and upsetting. They mentioned that employees of the museum asked the American soldiers positioned near the museum to protect the building just a few hours before the looting began, but the soldiers didn’t respond. The looting went on for a whole three days and only a week later the museum got secured, but by then the damage was already done.
As a measure of prevention, most of the valuable pieces were not displayed in the exhibition halls. They were kept in safes before the war started. The looters were able to locate and even access these areas, which is a sign that organised criminals have been among them. They knew exactly what to take and where to find it.
Concerned citizens entered with the looters to save what they could from being stolen. They kept the artifacts at their homes and brought them back after the museum was secured.
Due to the looting of Baghdad being covered by the international media, the US army was forced to protect the buildings and start investigations. In the meantime, archaeological excavation sites were an open playground for thieves and vandals. As a result, most of these sites were robbed and damaged badly. The harm there was even greater. To this day it is not known what was stolen from these sites.
Watching these incidents gave the words “fallen country” a new meaning. A meaning I wish I had never experienced. The obvious disinterest of US forces in securing the country, the rising aggression of the people who had little to nothing and now even lost their jobs (especially after the disbandment of the Iraqi military) and the damaged infrastructure, were yet again proof that the war never truly was about freeing Iraq. It was about ruining the country, controlling the oil, and deleting the identity of Iraq.
A few days after the looting, the museum staff, and a lot of Iraqi and foreign archaeologists, worked day and night to clean up the mess, document the missing artefacts and restore what was left.
Today, almost 20 years after the war, Iraq is showing signs of recovery: Offical reports say, that about 40% of the stolen artifacts were returned to the museum and the international investigations are still ongoing to retrieve all the missing pieces. The museum and a lot of the archaeological sites re-opened for visitors again. And tourists are showing big interest in visiting the country.
It was a long and painful path and there is still a lot that must be done, but hopefully we are witnessing the beginning of a new era of peace and recovery.
Photo: The New York Times (Monday, January 23, 2023) in collaboration with Der Standard. The Looting of the Iraq Museum, Baghdad – ISBN 0-8109-5872-4.