[MSN] How Iraq's treasures were lost. Former Baghdad museum official speaks at Bowers about invaluable artifacts lost to war.

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How Iraq's treasures were lost
Former Baghdad museum official speaks at Bowers about invaluable artifacts
lost to war.
By SEAN EMERY
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA - Scattered gasps spread across the Bowers Museum audience Sunday,
as photographs of destroyed artifacts and a ransacked Iraq Museum were
displayed. 

Many in the crowd knew of the looting of Iraq's cultural heritage during the
chaos that ensued at the beginning of the war, but former museum director
Donny George's firsthand account still shocked them. 

George, who was the director of the Iraq Museum at the time of the looting,
now teaches classes at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He was
invited to the Bowers Museum as part of the "Distinguished Lecture" series.

George said the Iraq Museum, once the home of priceless literature and
artifacts dating back to 3000 B.C. looked as if a hurricane had hit. After
three days of looting, more than 120 doors were smashed, and computers,
telephones and even light switches were stolen.

Museum staff attempted to protect as many artifacts as possible by placing
them in a hidden cellar, but looters made off with an estimated 15,000
pieces of artwork and artifacts, destroying larger pieces that couldn't be
removed from the museum.

At Sunday's presentation, George on Sunday shared his frustration at the
inability to protect Iraq's cultural heritage, and at the impact of the
violence that followed in the wake of Saddam Hussein's removal.

Since his early years growing up in Iraq, George was drawn to archaeology,
joining the Iraq Museum in 1976. Despite the inherent danger, he resolved
not to leave the museum, even as American tanks approached from two
directions.

However, once civilians entered the museum grounds and began shooting at
American forces, George realized they would be caught in the crossfire. With
a helicopter gunship hovering above, the remaining museum officials escaped
through a back door.

Protection didn't arrive for days, George said, leaving museum leaders
afraid that waves of looters would return to burn the building down.

Officials realized that there was more behind the looting than random
violence. Within days the artifacts began surfacing in Europe and the United
States.

The loss of artifacts wasn't limited to the museum, with looters descending
on archaeological sites as well. Overhead photos show thousands of pits dug
next to the carefully excavated sites.

"What happened to the archaeological sites is the most dangerous thing,"
George said, because the loss cannot even be measured.

Efforts to track down the artifacts began immediately, often with the
assistance of Iraqi citizens. 

Iraqis have returned thousands of items taken from the museum and
archaeological sites, George said. About 3,700 museum pieces were recovered
- about half of what was taken - and more than 16,000 pieces from
archaeological sites.

Officials temporarily sealed the museum off after the transfer of power to
the Iraqi government in 2004, George said, then closed them permanently
after a mass kidnapping took place nearby.

George, a Christian, left his post - and the country - last year after
threats from Muslim fundamentalists. He also claims that he was stripped of
his position by the new Iraqi leadership, who he says wanted a Muslim in the
position. Iraqi leaders have denied the accusations.

George is still actively tracking the missing Iraqi artifacts, many of which
are being held outside of the country.

"It's very hard when you know people are dying every day and you are
fighting for antiquities," George said. "(But) it must be a priority because
it is the wealth of the people. It's the memory and cultural heritage of
mankind."

George's presentation Sunday was a lesson in the vulnerability of cultural
artifacts in times of crisis, several in attendance said. 

"It is encouraging to see that some of it is coming back," Jeanne Case said.

Staff writer Doug Irving contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: 949-454-7329 or semery at ocregister.com