[MSN] Thieves threaten the Elimination of the Sumerian civilization in Dhi-Qar

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Thieves threaten the Elimination of the Sumerian civilization in Dhi-
Qar


Iraqi national- WNA / Office of Dhi-Qar / report / Since the 
beginning of the war on Iraq and the archeological sites in Iraq are 
subjected to theft, voices rise and demand an end to cross-border 
smuggling operations.
The Administrator of archeological Inspectorate of Dhi-Qar Abdul Amir 
Al-Hamadani believes that thieves threaten the Elimination of the 
Sumerian civilization of southern Iraq, where the stronghold of 
civilizations in the world.
But today, the cradle of humanity is in danger, and they are 
subjected to looters of archaeological sites since the start of the 
war, and in a way that it exceeded all of the robberies that were 
exposed too in its history, which extends for thousands of years.
Al-Hamadani pointed "that the number of archaeological sites within 
the boundaries of Dhi-Qar exceed 800, each territory has seen eras of 
civilization starting from the era of pre-history to the late Islamic 
era. In some locations there are 18 civilization layers. 
Al-Hamadani pointed that the risks the cradle of civilizations 
exposed too are many, but no one is trying to save what can be saved 
only Archeological Inspectorate of the province, which is 
concentrated at the present time to provide protection for sites 
registered on the archaeological map
A number of new sites had been discovered not included in the 
archeological map, which was flooded with water in the form of 
partial or total or was inaccessible because they are located in 
remote areas. "Sites targeted by thieves extended to the right and 
left of the old course of the Euphrates (and Mesopotamia), located on 
a border strip between the four provinces of southern Iraq", 
According to Al-Hamadani, a 100 civilian guard employed to report on 
abuses occurring in near locations. There is a monument protection 
taskforce and they provide 25% of its members with weaponries.
Al-Hamadani added: "The work of these armed guards is based on the 
protection of monuments during patrols around the clock. But they do 
not possess the necessary cars to do their job well, they only 
possess nine cars operating in the four hubs of the province, this 
number is insufficient, especially with the increasing number of 
archaeological sites.
"The task force is "to deter those looters", Al-Hamadani said.
He also added that "some people of the area, but they're not 
inherently as thieves looking for opportunities to the exhumation of 
archaeological sites and dug", Then, "comes smugglers and dealers 
from away provinces like Karbala, Baghdad and the Kurdistan region 
and pay large amounts of money for the exhumed antiquities.
This consumes the area of its cultural heritage. There might be 
museums worldwide seeking to obtain these parts at any price because 
the Sumerian civilization is a unique civilization, the rise in the 
prices of these items with the passage of time is hi and they will be 
sold at exorbitant prices in the world markets in both the United 
States and Europe. And with the lack of real protection of this World 
Heritage, the old towns destroyed and their archeological pieces 
scattered. 
It should be noted that the fear is growing that the trade of 
archeological pieces will eradicate completely the Sumerian 
civilization. During the last three years, destroyed and vandalized 
more than one hundred archaeological site, and if the Iraqi 
government or occupation forces will not provide necessary support in 
the near future, the humanity will lose an important part of its 
civilizations memories.

http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.1175.15