Sprol

Baghdad. The name used to invoke a feeling of exotic travel, mysterious people, architecture, and archeology. Now it evokes images of violence, bombed out buildings, war, and human rights abuses. What used to be a city representing the cradle of civilization now represents a clash of two civilizations and the excesses and abuses of both those civilizations.

Split by the Tigris River, downtown Baghdad contains sites like the Ancient Round City, which have not been fully excavated and explored using modern archaeological techniques because of the political upheaval in the region.

Even without full and modern archaeological techniques, Iraq has been a treasure trove of history. Much of that history has been lost to science since the onslaught of American and coalition force bombing that occurred both in the Gulf War of the early nineties and the latest invasion of Iraq. Much of that loss is permanent.

Artifacts have been broken or disappeared. Much of that loss is temporary. Some artifacts will reappear over time, a process that is already well under way. They have been cataloged and there is a limited black market for well known artifacts.

During the looting that occurred while US forces guarded the Iraqi Oil Ministry, some treasures were taken from the Museum of Baghdad. How much was lost in the looting is unclear. There were reports that wealthy westerners commissioned the the theft of certain pieces for their private collections. There is some evidence that the Baathist resistance was using the museum as a command post. What is clear is that many of the most valuable objects had been removed before the invasion and placed in bank vaults and various other locations for safe-keeping.

No matter what the actual circumstances, both sides failed to protect the heritage not just of Iraq, but of modern civilization. Worse than that, each side pointed to the other’s failure as proof of their superior political position and refused to accept any responsibility for their own actions. The resistance never should have used the museum for any resistance at all, and the US should have guarded it from looters.

Ironically, brutally so, is that the only single person who seems to have acted at all properly throughout the entire looting and ensuing controversy was Saddam Hussein. Hussein has long had a history of protecting and repatriating the artifacts of Iraq. Part of that is the arrogant pride of a dictator, but part of it is also a recognition that these artifacts are important.

Hussein’s respect for the history of the area and the bits of that history that have survived in physical form no doubt had a major influence on the way the archaeological community reacted to the reports of the looting. Hussein had allowed, even encouraged digs to continue throughout the Iran-Iraq war and welcomed many of them back after the Gulf War. He had treated scientists working on digs well. He had provided them with access for their research providing the artifacts stayed in the country and loaned select pieces out.

Is it any wonder when the scientists and researchers began hearing that 170,000 artifacts had been looted that they spoke out against the failure of US marines to guard the museum? They saw the rampant looting of Baghdad on the news. They heard Dr. Donny George, the Museum of Baghdad’s director of research, cite the number 170,000 in several different contexts. George later claimed that the press had misinterpreted what he meant and that he was referring to the total number of antiquities in the collection, but all of the quotes attributed to him, from both sides of the argument, have him referring to 170,000 artifacts being gone.

Unfortunately, while known artifacts slowly reappear, those that have never been excavated are disappearing. These are less like to reappear because they have never been cataloged. Since the invasion ended and the occupation began, looting of ancient sites by Iraqis has become a fact of life. Iraqi people desperate for food and other necessities turn to looting. They sell antiquities to dealers for pennies on the dollar. The dealers who buy these looted artifacts are connected to organized crime in the west.

At the same time that antiquities disappear due to looting, the continued occupation also takes a toll. While the US State department proudly announced supplying 20 trucks to the Archaeological Site Protection program, the US military has flattened archaeological sites to make room for helicopter landing pads.

Is it any wonder that there is a continuing outcry from the scientific community over the loss of a massive number of artifacts and archaeological sites that gave us insight into the first steps of humanity towards civilization? Not under the circumstances.

The issue of artifacts in Iraq acts as an allegory to the reality of downtown Baghdad. The truth, both as it relates to current events and as it relates to history, is being slowly lost. Neither side has given us anything but political spin and there are so many side issues that even attempting to find the reality is a major undertaking. Everything is being driven by politics, corporate agendas, religious beliefs, personal need for the poor and personal greed for the wealthy.

The western press has been largely silent and when it has spoken, it has been biased and dependent on government press releases. The Middle Eastern press has been biased toward the Iraqi resistance, or towards specific factions they are sympathetic towards. The situation in the west is highly politicized, with accusations of sympathies towards terrorists being launched at archaeologists who criticize the White House’s handling of the situation.

Whether an individual supports the Iraqi insurgency; the foreign fighters that may or may not be flocking to the region; the Bush and Blair governments; or none of the above, voicing an opinion, no matter how valid, makes that individual a target. In downtown Baghdad that can lead to a death sentence. In the United States it leads to character assassination and the possible demise of a career.

To address the issue of the loss of antiquities in Iraq is to address the other issues that face Iraq and the world. If we are unwilling to find ways to preserve the heritage of our civilization, then we are incapable of the kind of compromise and intelligent discussion that addresses other complicated issues.

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