In the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi people knew that when it happened key cultural and archeological sites would be looted. At some sites, museum employees hid artifacts in storage containers and protected them with weapons. But the majority of artifacts, including many in the National Museum, were left vulnerable. As a result 15,000 artifacts were stolen in 2003, representing some of the world's oldest artworks and irreparably damaging Iraq's culture and tourism industry.
Lawrence Rothfield, co-founder of the University's Cultural Policy Center, told this story during a recent presentation at the Harris School. He has embarked on a multiphase project on the protection of cultural heritage during wartime, focused on identifying the causes of failures in protecting antiquities during the Iraqi invasion and offering policy solutions to prevent similar looting and illicit selling of antiquities. Last year, he published those policy prescriptions in Antiquities Under Siege: Cultural Heritage Protection after the Iraq War.
The 15,000 artifacts stolen include many cylinder seals, vases, status, steles, and friezes. "There were some major loses," said Rothfield. "Some pieces that were too big to move were chiseled off. One of the Assyrian lions dating back to 1800 B.C. had its head lopped off." The Warka Vase was also taken; it dates back to 3300-3200 B.C. and is the earliest-known narrative art.
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