Jordan hands over stolen Iraqi artifacts
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan turned over Sunday nearly 2,500 stolen Iraqi artifacts to Iraq's top antiquities official, in the latest effort to recover the war-torn nation's stolen heritage.
In the chaos following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, looters snatched some 15,000 priceless artifacts and smuggled them out of the country. In the last few months, Jordanian authorities seized 2,466 items as they were being taken across the border.
Samples of the silver coins, necklaces, ancient Sumerian scrolls, ceramic pots and other artifacts were displayed for journalists during a brief ceremony at the Jordanian Antiquities Department in Amman.
Iraq's acting state minister of tourism and archaeology, Mohammed Abbas al-Oreibi, told reporters the recovered antiquities will be packed and sent back to Iraq in the coming days.
So far, Iraq retrieved a total of 8,500 items — including some from Syria recently — out of the 15,000 antiquities stolen, he said.
Al-Oreibi said contacts were under way with Italy to recover some unspecified stolen antiquities. He declined to elaborate, but said that some of the looted Iraqi treasures were believed to be also in France, Spain, Turkey, Iran and some Persian Gulf states.
He said Iraq was setting up a special police unit to defend the country's numerous archaeological sites and prevent any further theft of its rich cultural heritage.
Widespread looting in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities following Saddam's ouster plundered the country's Babylonian, Sumerian and Assyrian collections spanning some 7,000 years of civilization in ancient Mesopotamia.
Iraqi and world culture officials have struggled to retrieve the treasures with little success because of fears they could be lost again amid the rampant violence and the difficulties in documenting the extent of the damage.
Some of the artifacts stolen from Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad by looters during the invasion have been returned, including in July 2006 a prized statue of an ancient king — the oldest known representation of the King Entemena of ancient Iraq.
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In the chaos following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, looters snatched some 15,000 priceless artifacts and smuggled them out of the country. In the last few months, Jordanian authorities seized 2,466 items as they were being taken across the border.
Samples of the silver coins, necklaces, ancient Sumerian scrolls, ceramic pots and other artifacts were displayed for journalists during a brief ceremony at the Jordanian Antiquities Department in Amman.
Iraq's acting state minister of tourism and archaeology, Mohammed Abbas al-Oreibi, told reporters the recovered antiquities will be packed and sent back to Iraq in the coming days.
So far, Iraq retrieved a total of 8,500 items — including some from Syria recently — out of the 15,000 antiquities stolen, he said.
Al-Oreibi said contacts were under way with Italy to recover some unspecified stolen antiquities. He declined to elaborate, but said that some of the looted Iraqi treasures were believed to be also in France, Spain, Turkey, Iran and some Persian Gulf states.
He said Iraq was setting up a special police unit to defend the country's numerous archaeological sites and prevent any further theft of its rich cultural heritage.
Widespread looting in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities following Saddam's ouster plundered the country's Babylonian, Sumerian and Assyrian collections spanning some 7,000 years of civilization in ancient Mesopotamia.
Iraqi and world culture officials have struggled to retrieve the treasures with little success because of fears they could be lost again amid the rampant violence and the difficulties in documenting the extent of the damage.
Some of the artifacts stolen from Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad by looters during the invasion have been returned, including in July 2006 a prized statue of an ancient king — the oldest known representation of the King Entemena of ancient Iraq.