News

September 16VIDEO: Restoring Looted Artifacts from the National Museum of Iraq

KTLA: Assignement Iraq: Restoring Looted Artifacts from the National Museum of Iraq

September 07Looted Treasures Return to Iraq

Iraq announced the return of hundreds of antiquities that had ended up in the United States, although 632 pieces repatriated last year were now unaccounted for.

November 19Video: Archaeologists find relics

Iraqi archaeologists have unearthed an ancient village in the city of Hilla. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports.

November 18Americans and Iraqis Work to Urgently Preserve the Ancient Assyrian Capital

Recent construction of a dam on the Tigris River is causing large sections of city of Ashur to be swept away, while other precious artifacts are being looted from one of three World Heritage sites in Iraq. The United States Embassy, with the assistance of the American military, and officials from Iraq's Board of Antiquities organized the first international assessment of the site since 2003.

November 17Iraq’s Ancient Past: Rediscovering Ur’s Royal Cemetery

In 1922, the same year that Howard Carter made headlines with the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt, Penn Museum and the British Museum embarked upon a joint expedition to the ancient site of Ur in southern Iraq. Led by British archaeologist Leonard Woolley, this expedition astonished the world by uncovering a 4,500-year-old royal cemetery with more than 2,000 burials that detailed a remarkable ancient Mesopotamian civilization at the height of its glory.

November 16Geospatial: Mapping Iraq’s Ancient Cities

While many Soldiers head home in the late hours of the second shift, Sgt. Ronald Peters sits at his desk scanning over imagery, maps and the Internet, sometimes as late as 5 a.m., looking for answers.

November 15Iraq cries for help to restore ancient sites

Iraq appealed to other nations on Thursday to help save its archaeological treasures from ruin, saying ancient Babylonian and Assyrian artifacts and priceless medieval Islamic monuments were at risk without more funds.

November 14To Catch a Looter

As United States troops begin withdrawing from Iraq, we should take stock of the staggering damage that Iraq's ancient archeological sites have suffered from looting over the last few years.

November 12Current Watch Site: Al-Hadba’ Minaret

The Al-Hadba' minaret's tilt has long been a source of concern. Despite efforts in the 1970s to stabilize the structures, cracks have proliferated along the minaret's base. Meanwhile, some have built houses immediately adjacent to the minaret, and stand to lose their homes--if not their lives--were it ever to topple.

November 11Hunt widens for Iraq’s looted treasure

The recent interest in heritage tourism in Iraq and other Gulf states has added vigour to the campaign to return stolen pieces. Unfortunately, archaeologists say, it has also whetted the appetite of private collectors in the region, and could provoke a resurgence in the illicit trade.

November 10Neglect, Not Looting, Threatens Iraq Sites, Study Says

Fears of the continued plunder of ancient antiquities in war-torn Iraq may be laid to rest, according to a new survey of eight of the most important archaeological sites in the south of the country.

November 09Ancient Iraqi stone head matched up with replica body

A mysterious stone head from ancient Mesopotamia dating back more than 4,000 years has been matched up with a replica body in Iraq after years of delays brought on by sanctions and war. The head from the Akkadian Empire, unearthed by Iraqi archaeologists in 1982, has been united with a replica of a headless torso discovered over a century ago, Baghdad Museum curator Mohsen Hassan Ali said.

November 08US Ratifies Treaty to Protect Cultural Property in Time of War

On September 25, 2008, the United States Senate voted to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This international convention regulates the conduct of nations during war and military occupation in order to assure the protection of cultural sites, monuments, and repositories, including museums, libraries, and archives.

November 07Iraq blocks sale of Mesopotamian artifacts in German auction

Iraqi diplomats in Germany have stopped the sale of 28 Mesopotamian artifacts believed to have been smuggled from the country in the years since the 2003-U.S. invasion. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked the Iraqi embassy in Germany to appoint a lawyer and launch a lawsuit to have the artifacts returned to Iraq.