AJA OPEN ACCESS: MUSEUM REVIEW www.ajaonline.org

Learning from the Iraq Museum

Donny George Youkhanna*

INTRODUCTION ning of its history. This entirely documented The Iraq Museum was founded in 1923 collection of finds from the cradle of civilization when Gertrude Bell, the British woman who encapsulates the most essential cornerstones of helped establish the nation of Iraq, stopped our modern life, including agriculture, writ- the archaeologist Leonard Woolley from tak- ing, laws, mathematics, astronomy, the arts, ing out of the country all of his extraordinary and warfare. third-millennium B.C.E. finds from the ancient Sumerian city of Ur (esp. the jewelry of the THE MUSEUM UNDER ATTACK royal cemetery)1 for division between the Brit- The protection of a museum’s holdings in ish Museum in London and the University of times of warfare or civil unrest is a multifaceted Pennsylvania’s Museum in Philadelphia. She and complicated issue. Because museums pres- believed that the Iraqi people should have a ent themselves as—and are routinely portrayed share of this archaeological discovery made in by the media as—storehouses and display ven- their homeland and, thereby, started a museum ues of treasure, they become targets of looting in central Baghdad, pressing into service two by organized gangs and by people from the rooms in an Ottoman barracks as its very first street. Because invading armies see all armed galleries. Material from ongoing excavations personnel as potential enemies, guards at mu- continued coming into this young museum, seums and other cultural institutions tend to and in 1936, it moved to another building be attacked or to slip away as fighting nears. If likewise on the eastern side of the Tigris River. the invading army does not take responsibility The museum continued enlarging its collec- for securing cultural institutions that have lost tion. Finally, the Iraqi government decided to their guards, looters quickly take advantage of construct a modern building for this national the vacuum in civil order. This scenario resulted museum. Completed in 1960, the new museum in the looting at the Iraq National Museum was built on the Tigris River’s west bank. Mov- on 10–12 April 2003 and also at dozens of ing the collection from the old building and other Iraqi cultural institutions, including the installing it in the new museum’s galleries took National Library, the National Academy of four years. The present Iraq Museum opened Arts, institutes of music, dance, and art, and in 1964, and in 1982, six large galleries were universities in Baghdad and elsewhere. Like- added to the building, for a total of 22 galleries, wise, organized looting of archaeological sites, plus an ample lobby and reception area at the which had begun during the mid 1990s in the main entrance. south of Iraq, resumed at a greatly increased The Iraq National Museum is one of the best rate while the invasion was taking place, and archaeological museums in the world, contain- it continues unabated.2 October 2010 (114.4) ing the material evidence for the development Since the Iraq National Museum was a of civilized human society from the very begin- prominent potential target of looting, before

* I would like to thank McGuire Gibson, from the 1 Woolley and Moorey 1982. Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and 2 Emberling and Hanson 2008; Myers 2010, 25 Museum Review Editor Beth Cohen for their help in June.

American Journal of Archaeology American 10.3764/ajaonline1144.Youkhanna DOI: of America Institute © 2010 Archaeological Copyright the preparation of this review. 2 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review the startofoperationinMarch 2003,several Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, it would have Iraqi invasion ofKuwaitin 1990, it would have 13 years of sanctions on Iraq because of the trained museumprofessionals asaresult of Given thereduced staff sizeandthelossof facts andtheircorresponding identifications. hope of maintaining the integrity of the arti its collectionsandshippingthemoff withany museum anywhere iscapableofdismantling move wasnotaddressed. Itisunlikelythatany items intactandaccountedforduringsucha have keptthesehundreds ofthousands the collectionsabroad. Howanyonecould galleries andthestorerooms intimetosend the museum’sstaff couldhaveemptiedthe two weeksofwork,itishighlyunlikelythat a secret storeroom alonerequired more than and depositing most of the displayed items in dismantling themuseum’spublicgalleries out ofthecountryforsafekeeping.Giventhat authorities tosendthemuseum’scollections the invasionandtriedtoconvinceIraqi Middle Eastexpert,visitedBaghdadbefore be putonano-target list. William K.Polk,a the firstGulf War, themuseumitselfwould they wouldbesafer. Hewasaware that,asin National Museum,where itwasthoughtthat Museum were beingtransferred totheIraq ing thattheobjectsfrom Hatra andtheMosul seum, wasquotedinonenewsreport assay research butnotyetresponsible forthemu of thisreview, thenIraqidirector generalfor academics and with Iraqi officials. The author in interviewswith American andEuropean dia attentionwasdrawntotheIraq Museum provincial towns. vulnerable assmallmuseumsinthecentersof well guarded and were thought not to be as display somereal objects, butthesesiteswere sites, suchasBabylonandHatra,didstill Some museumsatprominent archaeological but insteadinstalledcastsandphotographs. museums (exceptfortheMosulMuseum), put anygenuineobjectsondisplayinregional those losses,the Antiquities Servicenolonger of whichhavebeenrecovered. As aresult of loss ofabout5,000 artifacts, fewer than10% been damagedandlooted,resulting inthe ums inthesouthandnorthofcountryhad of the1991war, nineofthe13regional muse in theuprisingsthatoccurred intheaftermath holdings. In particular, it was pointed out that attention toitsimportanceandthethreat toits Pentagon andStateDepartmentofficialstocall attempts were madeinmeetingswithU.S. In themonthsleadingto2003war, me - - - - - derived from salvagedigs carriedoutfrom the massive influxofnewlyexcavatedobjects during the sanctions regime in the 1990s. A of theabovementionedlayoffs ofpersonnel records wasseriouslycompromised because shelf logs.However, themaintenanceofsuch ledgers andalsoinmuseumdisplaycase item couldbediscovered from notationsonthe catalogues, andthusthepresent locationofan master couldbecorrelated withexcavationfind museum wasfoundedintheearly1920s;this in Englishand Arabic, hasexistedsincethe master catalogueinlarge ledgers,recorded ing photographsofeachitem. Yet averyfine was thelackofacompleteinventory, includ National Museum,aswithmanymuseums, THE MUSEUM’SDOCUMENTATION action inBaghdad. been impossibletoundertakesuchacourseof were putintostorage,bothabove-andbelow massive wooden doors. The movable objects Assyrian reliefs, Islamicbuildingfacades,and very large, permanentlyfixedobjects,suchas the public galleries were dismantled, except for that fellwithin200mofthemuseum in1984), Baghdad (including a particularly deadly one Iraq War, whenrockets oftencamedownon the problems. At thebeginningofIran- galleries severaltimessince1980exacerbated storerooms in April 2003. pilfered during the looting oftheaboveground Steel trunks holdingthesesalvagedfindswere others were setasidetobedealtwithlater. significant objects were recorded fully, but had totryprocess them.Someofthemore a majorproblem tothemuseum’s staff, which thousands ofartifacts,butthesefindspresented of importantbuildingsandtherecovery of somewhat. Theyalsoresulted intheexposure general ofmuseums,didimpedethelooting and the Iraq Museum, includingthe director the already overworked personnel of the SBAH sites. Thesalvageoperations,carriedoutby allowed industrial-scalepillaging ofmany the southerncountrysideundersanctions in Iraq,butthelackofgovernmentcontrol of antiquities lootinghadbeenalmostnonexistent the south. Prior to 1991, for more than 40 years, mounted tostopthelootingofmajorsitesin These salvage operations had themselves been of themuseum,onlyaddedtodifficulty. tiquities and Heritage (SBAH),theparent body late 1990suntil2003bytheStateBoard of An One ofthemajorproblems withtheIraq The necessityofdismantlingthepublic - - - 3 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review ground, resulting insomesubsequentdamage windows anddoorswere barricadedwithcon and journalslessaccessibleto looters.Sixth, welded in order to make the remaining books ties Librarywasputintheclosedpositionand old). Fifth, the movable shelving of the Antiqui the Islamicperiod,somemore than1,000years the ManuscriptHouse(mostofthemdatingto along withalmost40,000manuscriptsfrom Library were hiddenoff-site inabombshelter, important reference booksfrom the Antiquities the basicobjectrecords andmanyofthemost objects, suchasthe Assyrian reliefs. Fourth, front oforuponsomethelarge, immovable Third, sandbagsandfoam were placedin notto reveal thesecret. swore onthe Qur’an storage locationknownonlytothefive;they from themuseum’spublic galleriesinasecret dismantling andhidingtheportableobjects of fivepersonswasgiventhe responsibility of to theIraqNationalMuseum.Second,agroup other provincial museums, were transferred statues from Hatra,andsome objectsfrom the Babylon, andHatra,includingsomelife-sized objects. First,allportableobjectsfrom Mosul, made severaldecisionsintendedtosafeguard to holdtheobjects. means ofphotographsinthecasesthatused from theUrtombswere likewiseshownby some objects.Someofthemostfamousitems no longerondisplay, exceptforphotographsof been, thefindsfrom the Queens’ Tombs were most oftheexhibitswere arranged astheyhad when themuseumwasreopened in2000,and objects stayed in the Central Bank, and even for somesmall,short-livedexhibitions.The warfare, themuseumremained closedexcept of thesanctionsandpossiblerenewal of the CentralBank.During1990s,because Queens’ Tombs, transferred toadeepvaultof and most of the finds from the Neo-Assyrian valuable objects,suchastheUrCemeterygold put intostorage,withmanyoftheiconicand the displays were once again dismantledand late 1990,withtheGulfWar abouttobegin, had foundatNimrud during1988–1989. of theeighthcenturyB.C.E.,whichIraqis finds from theNeo-AssyrianQueens’ Tombs three ofthemwere devotedtotheastonishing in 1988,thegallerieswere reinstalled; butnow from humidity. At theendofIran-IraqWar 3 In anticipationofthe2003war, theSBAH Damerji [1999]. 3 In In - - grounds lican Guard troops had been on the museum’s allowed someobserverstoclaimthatRepub discarded theiruniforms andweapons;this have beenfired upon. Wisely, astheyleft, in theiruniforms,theywouldmostprobably peared. Had theystayedinposition,especially to themuseum,itsmore than40guards disap museum complex,butasthewarcameclose placed inasmallbuildingthebackof its guards; therefore, aspecialpoliceunitwas THE MUSEUM’SGUARDS placed behindthemuseum’sfront entrance. not allowedtodoso,exceptforapartialbarrier the administrativeofficesofSBAHbutwas to sealalltheouterdoorsmuseumand were closedandlocked.Thisreviewer wanted and doorsmeanttosegregate specificareas crete blocks,andthesteeldoorsofstorerooms broken doors(fig.3). to secure thebuilding,mainlybypatching lived intheneighborhood cameinandbegan arrived atthemuseum,staff memberswho not doso.Lateon12 April, asthepress finally conferring withcommanders,saidtheycould to driveoff thelooters.Thetankcrew, after intersection andaskedU.S. troops inatank the museum’sgrounds wentouttothenearby 2), themanwhohadstayedinhishouseon hours. Whenthelootingbeganon10 April (fig. happened to the complex for more than 24 holes inthefacadeofmuseum,nothing in 1982—andoneortwosmall-caliberbullet that wasconvertedintotheChildren’s Museum Khorsabad, ofthe late eighthcentury B.C.E., replica ofan Assyrian citygatefrom ancient shell holeinthesymbolicgateway(fig.1)—a the fedayeenandU.S.troops, whichleftone responsibility forit. After abrieffightbetween the American troops hadbeenwillingtotake the IraqMuseumandSBAHcomplex,evenif and noonewithfluentEnglishlefttosurrender seum’s grounds. There wasnooneofauthority and hisson,wholivedattherear ofthemu group leftbythebackgate, exceptforaman the museum’sfenceintofront garden. The when hesawafewfedayeenfightersleapover Jabbar Khalil,decided that they should leave only fivepersonsleft.Thepresident ofSBAH, U.S. militaryarrivedatthemuseum,there were The ultimateprotection foranymuseumis but had fled. On 8 April, the day the - - - 4 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review century B.C.E.),withashellholefrom fightingin2003. Fig. 1.TheIraqMuseum’sChildren’s Museum(replica ofan Assyrian citygatefrom Khorsabad,lateeighth Fig. 2.Glasscuttersbrought bylootersfoundinthegalleries of theIraqMuseumin2003. 5 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review have been attacked several times by men firing have beenattackedseveraltimes bymenfiring of carbombs.Guards, hired sinceMay2003, the museum—hasbeensubjected toanumber A exchanges of fire and the rumbling of tanks. tions are stillvulnerabletothevibrationsfrom subjected todirect attack,themuseum’s collec west bankoftheTigris River. Evenwhennot blocks westofHaifaStreet, amajorstreet onthe the most unstable areas of Baghdad, only two insecure. Themuseumislocatedinoneof but alsobecausethesituationhasremained seum andtheadministrativeofficesofSBAH what hadalready happenedtotheIraqMu itself arose, however, notsimplybecauseof thousands ofotherartifacts. shelter away from the museum had preserved transfer ofrecords andmanuscriptstoanuclear 5). Buttheuseofasecret storage area andthe and contentsofunderground storerooms (fig. account of inside knowledge of thelocation or damaged(fig.4).Majorlossesoccurred on display areas orinworkrooms, were stolen Some importantitemsthathadbeenleft,inthe vived, althoughsomewere damaged by water. artifacts in thevault of theCentral Bank sur almost alltheitemsonpublicdisplay, and those itself. schema inwhichthemuseumwoulddefend the authorofthisreview began todevelopa Iraq Museum,andlateraspresident ofSBAH, sites. After beingnameddirector generalofthe plans forattemptingtosecure museumsand the necessityofhavingmore comprehensive Museum andSBAHcomplexclearlyrevealed PLANS FORTHEMUSEUM’SDEFENSE SBAH complexwere destroyed in2003. Fig. 3.More than120doorsintheIraqMuseumand major busterminal—lessthan 200mfrom The schema of the museum’s defending Actions takenbefore thewar hadpreserved The eventsleadingtothelootingofIraq - - - that are attachedtoexhibition gallerieshave Even the administrativeareas of the museum across doorways leading to its collections. doors byweldingandhasbuiltmore walls additional secure storage. Ithas sealed all metal periods ofchaos,themuseumhasconstructed generators. To guard againstfurtherlossesin will still be no electricity and no fuel for the under certaincircumstances itislikelythere has been furnished with emergency generators, Although theIraqMuseumandSBAHcomplex entrances tothemuseummaynotfunction. installed electronic devicesthatcontrol the when there maybenoguards andthenewly been takentoprotect themuseumattimes struck themuseum’sgarden. wounded. Ononeoccasion,aKatyusharocket front ofthemuseum.Severalguards havebeen cars passingathighspeedthrough thestreet in bursts from automaticweaponswhileridingin by foreign excavatorscouldbeusedtosupply make prints. Ina few cases, the records kept it couldnotobtainphotographic suppliesto of objects on file, under the sanctions regime, But evenwhenthemuseum hadnegatives it isalmostimpossibletoidentify anobject. and secure their return. Without aphotograph, essential intryingtotrackdownstolenitems tographs ordetaileddrawingsofobjectswere that earliereffort, itbecameobviousthatpho ing becauseofmultipleviruses. And during difficulties keepingthecomputersfrom crash terpol andotheragencies.Butthemuseumhad prepared toassembleadatabasesendIn were looted from the regional museums, it was computers for its work, and when 5,000 objects in the1980s, the museum had begun using a database in the year before the war. Already out, butthemuseumhadjustbeguncreating could have been much more efficiently carried sizable computerizeddatabase,theinventory arrived on17 April 2003.Hadthere beena of thestorerooms soonaftertheU.S.troops retrieve themand begin making an inventory war, itwaspossibleforthemuseum’sstaff to had beenputinanoff-site shelterbefore the all othermatters. but, fornow, securitytakesprecedence over a more definitivecount of thelootedobjects; the inventoryofstorerooms inorder togain carry out routine tasks, much less to continue This makesitdifficultforthemuseum’sstaff to distributed tootherdepartmentsoftheSBAH. been emptied,andallstaff membershavebeen Under these conditions, special steps have Under theseconditions,specialstepshave Since the basicrecords ofthe Iraq Museum - - - 6 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review in 2003 (the head was stolen). in 2003(theheadwasstolen). Fig. 4. Roman marble statue of Poseidon from Hatra, ca. 160 C.E., destroyed in the Hatra Hall of the Iraq Museum a storeroom ofthe IraqMuseumin2003. Fig. 5.GoldenLyre ofUr(theworld’s oldestknownstringedmusicalinstrument, ca.2,600B.C.E.),destroyed in 7 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review photographs ordrawingsofstolenartifacts. artifacts to safekeeping, perhaps outside their should havecontingencyplans forremoving antiquities andworksofart. Administrators especially giventhecurrent elevatedpricesfor the victimoflootinginatimesocialunrest, worst-case scenarios. Any museumcouldbe administrators everywhere beprepared for of 1980–1988.Itisessentialthatallmuseum 2003 butalsogoingbacktotheIran-IraqWar wartime —notjusttheconflictsin1991and from theexperiencesofIraqMuseumin SUGGESTIONS CONCLUSIONS AND of museumstaff abletocome towork. also caused a significant decrease in the number not only forced the sealing of the museum but deterioration of the security situation, which the workcouldnotbestartedbecauseof arrived attheIraqMuseuminBaghdad,but ing in database management. The equipment from the museum were sent to Jordan for train staff andinformationtechnology specialists needs. Between2004and2006,70operating der to adapt the program to the Iraq Museum’s program severaltimeswith thecompanyinor SBAH andthemuseum’sstaff discussedthe management. Senioradministratorsofthe a Canadian company specializing in database international community, UNESCOcontracted seum, and, with funding by grants from the digital dataprogram forthe itemsinthemu with UNESCOtocreate acomprehensive higher levelofefficiency. TheSBAHarranged network, whichenabledthestaff tooperateata looting includedtheinstallationofacomputer the SBAHofficesinaftermathof2003 THE MUSEUM’SELECTRONICDATABASE for thedatabasewaslimited. storage forsafekeepingmeantthatscanning and thefactthatmanyofobjectswere in but afterward, themuseum’sdiminishedstaff ized databaseintheyearsbefore the2003war, recognized by the staff initiating the computer The importanceofaphotographicrecord was time thetrailofthieveshadgrown cold. list meantthepassageofweeks,duringwhich receiving them,andincorporatingthemintoa But askingtheexcavatorsforphotographs, 4 There are generallessonstobelearned The restitution oftheIraqMuseumand See, e.g.,www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/asia/iraq/iraqart.htm. - - - - on severalexternalhard drives. Mostmuseums on specialserversinremote locations,oreven off-site asabackup,whether ontheInternetor some museums’holdings,scannedandstored all excavationrecords, whichdocumentpartof provincial museums.Itwouldbeidealtohave tifacts from excavations,such as national and most museumsthatactasrepositories ofar cord ofitsholdings.Thisisprobably true of up-to-date, complete,andeasilyaccessedre clear as yet how well that technology will work. use abarcode systemonartifacts,butitisnot the UnitedStatesandEurope are beginningto information with the object. Some museums in should trytodevelopamethodofkeepingthe display, labelswillbelostorconfused,andthey aware that,inanymovementofartifactsfrom standard intheNearEast.Theyshouldalsobe constructed storerooms thanare currently the countries, ifpractical,butatleasttobetter- equipment, and in furnishing expertise. Such in thesupplyofadequateand appropriate in fundingforhiringandtraininglocalstaff, tions digitally. This helpshouldbeexpressed as SyriaandIran,todocumenttheircollec especially inareas currently underthreat, such vulnerable areas, suchastheMiddleEast,and rate a program to help museums in particularly able to recover them. otherwise, no law-enforcement agency will be wise documenteveryitemintheircollections; database storage. catalogues, photographs,generalrecords, and nized depositoriesforduplicatesofmuseum should beoneormore internationally recog should bedepositedoutsidethecountry. There photocopied orscanned,andtheseduplicates tions. At aminimum,paperrecords shouldbe can becopiedfortransfertomultiplesafeloca hard drives,are mucheasiertotransportand CDs andDVDs,USBflashdrives,external using several modern technologies, such as they are keptup-to-date,but computerbackups ledgers oftheIraqMuseum,serveverywellif need updating.Paperrecords, liketheexcellent on, theirprograms are nowantiquatedand those museumsthatadoptedcomputersearly holdings isjustbeingstartedor, inthecaseof departments, andeitherdigitizationoftheir are understaffed, especiallyintheirrecords No IraqimuseumIknowofhasanentirely Museums needtophotographandother 4 UNESCO should inaugu ------8 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review help should be made available to any museum help shouldbemadeavailabletoanymuseum Imaging willalsoallowdocumentation of pace ofdestruction bymeansofnewimages. in Iraq. still beinglootedonanunprecedented scale and thethousandsofothersites,whichare program hasnotandcannotsafeguard these recognized asarchaeological sites.Butthis the 10,000orsositesinIraqthatare officially tion Institute, is establishing a database for Monuments FundandtheGettyConserva imaging. TheSBAH,workingwiththeWorld its staff inGIStechniques,includingsatellite the cooperation of international bodies totrain years, Iraq’sStateBoard of Antiquities hashad sible toachieve that precision. In the past three information system(GIS)techniques,itispos location isessential,andnowwithgeographic natural hills, the documentation of their precise Near East, which can easily be mistaken for of thousandsarchaeological moundsinthe markings. Forsites,especiallythehundreds be trainedtorecognize andrespect such air strikes,isessential, and allarmiesshould ings, sothatthesebuildingswillbeavoidedin roofs ofmuseumsandcultural heritagebuild records. Affixing blueshieldmarkingsonthe with scaledrawings,photographs,andother sive, well-documenteddatabase,complete monuments, there is a need for a comprehen prevent andtoinvestigate them.With standing in Italy, acountrythatactsaggressively to is clearfrom themanycultural heritagethefts situations, however, lootingcanstilloccur, as finest records fordoingso.Eveninthebest fectively, andIraq,until1991,hadoneofthe committed governmentscanguard sitesef a role indocumentingthem.Onlystrongly try’s landscape,andUNESCOshouldplay and archaeological sitesare partofeverycoun seum inventoriesrapidly. so thatresources maybeappliedtocreate mu needs tobeconsidered anemergency situation, such as the Middle East, database management to sustain them. In areas of special vulnerability, grants are sufficienttobeginprograms butnot museum improvement. Usually, however, these Museum andLibrary Services,givesgrantsfor States, agovernmentalagency, theInstituteof or through nationalprograms. IntheUnited in need, either through aninternational effort 5 Beyond museums,standingmonuments Myers 2010,25June. 5 Itdoes,however, helpmonitorthe ------mark theirheritagesites,whichmightprevent to listsitesinaninternationalregistry andto future, itmaybeessential forcountriesboth it wouldbecomeapoliticalissue;butinthe such locationsknowntopotentialinvaders, Baghdad. Were acountry’sofficialstomake prevent theirlootingbyIraqisafterthefallof Museum wasnumbertwo,butthisdidnot ings tosecure inBaghdad,ofwhichtheIraq had alsocompiledalistofmore than80build of thesesiteswashitdeliberately. Themilitary the no-strike list.Insofar as we can tell, none than 100standingmonuments,were puton ish militaries,andthesesites,alongwithmore furnished listsofsitestotheU.S.andBrit few academics in the United States and Europe the damagedonetoIraq’sculturalheritage. Board of Antiquities beginsanassessmentof will beessentialinthefuture whentheState the spread oflootingovertime. Such records [email protected] STONY BROOK,NEW YORK 11794-5343 STONY BROOKUNIVERSITY 11126 HUMANITIESBUILDING DEPARTMENTSTUDIES OF ASIANANDAMERICAN than nothing. healthy political environment, and this is better staff stilldoesitsdailywork,thoughnotina are only VIPs and journalists, but the museum’s tions in the United States. The current visitors especially tomuseumsandantiquitiesinstitu of itsstaff membersfortraining coursesabroad, looting. Themuseumisabletosendanumber some ofthematerialsthatwere repatriated after large itemsfixedtothefloor andthewalls den locations;theonlyobjectsondisplayare most oftheoriginalcollectionremains inhid eight galleriesoutof22have“opened,”though the museumisstillclosedtogeneralpublic, staffs oftheSBAHand museum. Although has beenapositivestepforward madebythe situation inBaghdad.Nonetheless,reopening to openthemuseumonaccountofsecurity they allbelievedthatitwasnottherighttime American, and European scholars because 2009, albeitwithsomeobjectionsfrom Iraqi, them from looting. inadvertent bombingandfacilitatesecuring In themonthsbefore the2003IraqWar, a The IraqMuseumwasreopened inFebruary - - - - 9 American Journal of Archaeology Online Museum Review Emberling, G.,andK.Hanson,eds.2008. Damerji, M.S.B.[1999]. Chicago: TheUniversityofChicagoPress. The LootingandDestructionofIraq’s Past museums. Verlag desRömisch-GermanischenZentral- aus Nimrud/Qubu Works Cited - r al-malika Gräber assyrischer Königinnen GräberassyrischerKöniginnen - t al-ashu - Catastrophe! riy . . Mainz: OIP 28. Woolley, L.,andP.R.S. Moorey. 1982. Myers, S.2010,25June.“Iraq’s Ancient RuinsFace University Press. Woolley’s ExcavationsatUr dees’: A RevisedandUpdatedEditionofSirLeonard html?scr=me (6 August 2010). com/2010/06/26/world/middleeast/26looting. New Looting.” The NewYork Times . Ithaca,N.Y.: Cornell . http://nytimes. Ur ‘oftheChal -