[FairOpinion]

"After the war (1991 Gulf war), the selling started. Now stuff is just pouring out. They are selling everything. If this continues, there won't be an archaeological site left that won't be damaged."

With stringent economic sanctions against Iraq in place since 1990 and little relief in sight, art experts and archaeologists say precious artifacts from some of the world's oldest civilizations -- Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian among them -- are pouring into the international market mainly to raise cash in hard times.

Experts say they cannot estimate the total value of Iraqi antiquities reaching the market illegally, but given that even small individual pieces can be priced at $50,000 in some cases, and that there are so many objects involved, the figure probably runs into the millions of dollars.

Mesopotamian antiquities exported legally from the 19th century until the 1960s have fetched high prices -- in one case $12 million paid for an ancient palace relief. "

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Well, while some artifacts may have been lost, but there are plenty that have made it to the international markets years ago. And maybe the currently looted artifacts were reproductions, or if they were originals, they will probably turn up somewhere, it's not as if we bombed the museum and destroyed them.

I think this puts things a bit more in context, than the whiners, who seem to claim that everything from the ancient civilizations have been lost, gone forever.

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[Steven W.]

This is an outrage! The Saddamites and liberal press no doubt started bringing this up so that when the truth came out - that Saddam had already cleared the shelves - they could continue to shield the evil regime and themselves, as so complicit in these regards, from further scorn & ridicule so well deserved for helping to prop up this despotic empire.

[Humidston]

It wouldn't surprise me to learn Saddam built on top of ruins and orchestrated the sales of the antiquities - just to establish his ownership over the entire history of his land.

Kind of reminds me of an animal - relieving himself on everything, just to prove his dominance.

[Dialup Llama]

As I understand it the main thing 'looted' were the computer hard drives cataloging the museum's collection. That's something you would do to cover up the fact the artifacts had already been sold off. Which is probably why the museum was closed for many years.

[Dialup Llama]

We all saw the end of Shindler's List where the remnants of the Nazi regime tried to flee with portable forms of wealth- diamonds, art etc... Same thing here.

[weegee]

If even small pieces are going for $50,000 then obviously someone is paying. Crack down on demand and the price will have to come down. No money in it and the crooks will move onto some other career for money.

[from occupied ga]

In the stalls of Portobello Road and the shops of Bond Street, dealers offered him antiquities probably smuggled from Iraq, a modern nation in distress that sits astride the remains of several ancient civilizations.

And this is bad because? It's OK for official government looters to plunder the stuff for their own use, but it's not OK for ordinary citizens to sell it. I guess I just don't understand why a "government archeologist" is substantively different than a tomb robber other thatn the government archaeologists gets paid with money already looted from taxpayers to loot tombs.

[Trailerpark Badass]

The hand-wringers and terminal doubters won't like this.

[Diddle E. Squat]

bump

[browardchad]

Thanks for posting this.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for finding and posting this great rebuttal to the fake cries of looting!

[MizSterious]

Great find! It should be linked to every single article posted about the looting, for perspective.