War has many victims. During the closing days of the battles in Baghdad, the Iraq Museum joined the list. Looters tore into the building and broke or carried off hundreds of thousands of priceless objects from Iraq's 10,000-year cultural history. Many of these treasures had survived centuries of war and changes in leadership. "Our history was in that building," said Mazen Ahmad, who sells eggs near the museum. "It was the soul of Iraq."
It wasn't just the museum that suffered. From Mosul to Kirkuk, thousands of antiques, manuscripts and rare books were stolen. The looters seemed to include expert thieves, who knew the value of what they took, as well as ordinary Iraqis. Among the pieces known to be missing: stone carvings of ancient royalty, jewelry, pottery and some of the earliest known writings. Some objects date back 10,000 years.
THE SEARCH IS ON
Antiquity experts and law enforcement officials are working on a plan to recover the treasures. First, they must figure out exactly what's missing. That won't be easy. No one knows just how much has been stolen, and many records were also destroyed.
Experts from the United Nations and the British Museum plan to go to Baghdad to help size up the losses. "The dust hasn't settled yet," says Sharon Flescher of the International Foundation for Art Research. "Everyone is trying to figure out which objects were looted, which were destroyed and which were simply hidden away."
International and Iraqi authorities are trying everything they can think of to get the artifacts back. Officials may even ban the international trade of Iraqi cultural objects. U.S. customs officers are looking for stolen objects at airports and border crossings. In Iraq, officials are pursuing tips from citizens. Religious leaders are asking followers to come forward with looted objects so that they may be returned to the museum. Dozens of items have been returned so far.
Officials hope that many more objects will be found and returned to their rightful owners: the people of Iraq.