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VOICE ONE:
This is Phoebe Zimmermann.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English programEXPLORATIONS. Today, we tell about efforts to recover archeologicaltreasures that were stolen from the National Museum of Antiquitiesin Baghdad, Iraq.
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VOICE ONE:
The National Museum of Antiquities in Baghdad is working torecover and repair thousands of stolen and broken objects. Theseancient objects from Iraq’s past were taken soon after the UnitedStates-led coalition ousted the government of Saddam Hussein.
The museum’s losses include manyvaluable artworks and objects. No one knows exactly how many objectsare missing. A first estimate of one-hundred-seventy-thousandmissing objects has been reduced. But museum officials say manythousands have disappeared or been broken.
Last week, teams of American investigators recovered more thanseven-hundred ancient objects and thousands of documents that hadbeen missing from the museum’s collection. Some of them had beenplaced in underground protected areas before the American invasion.
VOICE TWO:
Officials say the museum still has some of its most treasuredobjects. For example, it still has the burial containers of kings ofthe ancient city of Ur. Muslims, Jews and Christians recognize Ur asthe birthplace of Abraham. Abraham was the ancestor of both the Araband the Jewish peoples.
Experts say the museum also has artworks showing male cows fromthe ancient kingdom of Assyria. Museum officials had placed them ina secure place before the war began.
Some stolen pieces also have been returned. For example, a youngIraqi man saw crowds stealing and breaking objects at the museum. Heleft and returned with a truck. He and two family members removed anumber of objects for safekeeping. They include a statue of anancient Assyrian king. It is damaged but can be restored. Someobjects that were returned, however, have proved to be only copiesof ancient pieces. They were being sold in the museum gift store.
VOICE ONE:
Experts say many major treasuresare missing. Many are from Sumer, an ancient area in southernMesopotamia, now southeastern Iraq. These objects are betweenfour-thousand and five-thousand years old. They include a life-sizestatue of a Sumerian king. Also missing is a statue of a head of awoman, a drinking cup and a musical instrument. The instrumentincludes the golden head of a male cow. Robbers also took the headof a marble statue of the Greek god Apollo and a large object ofivory that represents an Assyrian god.
VOICE TWO:
For years, archeologists considered the Baghdad museum one of thefinest in the world. Its collection includes objects fromeleven-thousand years ago. But the most important objects are fromancient Mesopotamia. The area now includes most of Iraq and parts ofSyria and Turkey. The major part of Mesopotamia was between theTigris and Euphrates rivers. Scientists say Mesopotamia was thebirthplace of civilization.
Mesopotamia was invaded by a number of peoples. They include theAkkadians, Amorites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians,Parthians, Arabs, Ottomans and the British. Most recently, theUnited States-led military coalition entered Iraq to oust SaddamHussein’s government.
VOICE ONE:
Crowds celebrated the end of Saddam’s rule by breaking statuesand other objects in public places. Crowds also stole objects fromSaddam’s homes and from government buildings. At first, such looterswere blamed for all the losses to the National Museum ofAntiquities. But United Nations experts say professional art thievesmay also be responsible. Officials of the U-N Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO — say some theftsapparently were well planned.
Archeologist McGuire Gibson of the University of Chicago inIllinois believes professional art thieves entered the museum first.He says they took the most important objects. After that, he sayslooters followed the professionals.
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For example, thieves left a copy of the prologue, orintroduction, to an ancient document called the Code of Hammurabi.Hammurabi ruled the kingdom of Babylonia thousands of years ago. Hiscode is one of the earliest written collections of laws. Apparentlythe introduction to the code was not stolen because it was not thetrue object. But the thieves broke off and carried away heads fromvaluable statues from an ancient city called Hatra.
VOICE ONE:
Robbers also took a valuable collection of cuneiform tabletscalled the Sippar Library. The collection contains pieces of stonewith cuneiform writing. Cuneiform developed from the oldest form ofwriting. The library describes life in Mesopotamia over thousands ofyears. It includes prayers, stories and scientific information. Thestone tablets tell about the stars, planets and other heavenlybodies. One story describes the creation of the world.
Iraqi archeologists discovered the library innineteen-eighty-six. It was in the wreckage of the Temple of Sippar,not far from Baghdad. They found about eight-hundred tablets in goodcondition. This was the first discovery of its kind ever made. Itwas the oldest complete library ever found in the place where it wasdeveloped. But experts fear that the ancient stone tablets may nothave survived.
VOICE TWO:
Museum officials in Baghdad have only incomplete records to helpthem decide exactly what is missing. The museum was closed for tenyears after the Persian Gulf war in nineteen-ninety-one. During thattime, records were lost.
Although lists are incomplete, officials know that some objectswere taken before the most recent war. Some were taken during thelast war. Iraqi officials say members of Saddam Hussein’s governmentstole from the collection during the nineteen-nineties.
VOICE ONE:
Many Iraqi archeologists and museum officials criticize theAmerican military for the recent losses. They say the forces thatentered Baghdad and other cities did nothing to prevent looting.American troops did not begin guarding the National Museum ofAntiquities until days after the crowds entered and wrecked themuseum.
Before the war, American and UNESCO experts had communicated withthe American State Department and Defense Department. The expertsdescribed cultural and archeological areas in Iraq that neededprotection. The goal was to make sure they were not bombed orrobbed.
But coalition commanders say they lacked enough troops to guardmuseums in Iraq. They also say soldiers are not trained to controlcrowds. Some experts do not blame the soldiers. Instead, they saythe Bush Administration should have provided more support to protectIraq’s treasures.
VOICE TWO:
Today, many organizations are cooperating to restore the missingobjects. Coalition soldiers and local guards are trying hard to keepvaluable artworks from leaving the country. Muslim clergymen areurging citizens to return stolen objects.
Reports say some missing artworks are being sold illegally oninternational markets. Others apparently are being offered for saleon Internet Web sites. UNESCO has asked other countries to watch forobjects taken from Baghdad. Officials in Jordan responded by findingand returning many museum pieces.
The worldwide police organization Interpol also is looking forstolen objects. So are a number of federal agents from the UnitedStates. In Baghdad, a United States Marine Corps reserve officer isinvestigating the thefts at the museum. In civilian life, ColonelMatthew Bogdanos works as a government lawyer in New York City.
VOICE ONE:
Archeologist McGuire Gibson believes experts everywhere can helprestore the National Museum of Antiquities. He says they shouldsearch their own records for descriptions of objects the museum hadshown. These artworks then could be listed on the Internet.Antiquities experts, foreign museums and governments are acting toblock the sale of stolen treasures. At a meeting in London two weeksago, representatives of some of the world’s leading museums promisedto help restore Iraq’s cultural treasures.
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VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Itwas produced by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week foranother Explorations program on the Voice of America.
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