[MSN] Iraq may soon end up with no history.

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Iraq may soon end up with no history 
 
Source:Iraq 

Iraq May End up With No History 

CAIRO — Iraq may soon end up with no history with almost every historical
site in the war-torn country is under the control of looters, who have
privatized the very cradle of human civilization under the watchful eye of
US occupation forces whose military hardware has left the walls of Sumarian
cities cracking and ground shaking, Robert Fisk wrote in The Independent on
Monday, September 17. Armies of looters have not spared "one meter of these
Sumerian capitals that have been buried under the sand for thousands of
years," says Lebanese archaeologist Joanne Farchakh in an appraisal to be
published in December but was seen by Fisk.
Farchakh says the total of 10,000 archaeological sites in Iraq have been
systematically looted by well-organized gangs with a lot of money.

"They systematically destroyed the remains of this civilization in their
tireless search for sellable artifacts: ancient cities, covering an
estimated surface area of 20 square kilometers, which – if properly
excavated – could have provided extensive new information concerning the
development of the human race," she says.

And looters have sent a clear message to the world: eight of Iraqi customs
policemen were brutally murdered and their bodies burnt in 2005 after
arresting antiquity dealers with hundreds of priceless artifacts in their
possession.

"Humankind is losing its history for the pleasure of private collectors
living safely in their luxurious houses and ordering specific objects for
their collection," writes Farchakh.


Gallery Fisk says even Iraqi archeologists are taking part in the looting,
using their expertise and knowledge in digging through the ancient cities
destroying thousands of priceless artifacts in their search for gold and
other treasures. Selling Sumerian masterpieces is now a lucrative business
in southern Iraq and even farmers have swapped their land for the traffic.

"The farmers consider their "looting" activities to be part of a normal
working day," says Farchakh.

The looters are well-organized and work within a smooth mass-smuggling
organization.

Trucks, cars, planes and boats take Iraq's historical plunder to Europe, the
US, to the United Arab Emirates and to Japan, Fisk says.

There is also an ever-growing number of websites that offer Mesopotamian
artifacts, objects anywhere up to 7,000 years old.

A cylinder seal, a sculpture or a cuneiform tablet earns $50 (£25) and
that's half the monthly salary of an average government employee in Iraq.

Farchakh says the looters are only part of the systematic destruction of
Iraq's ancient cities, hitting out at the US occupation forces for failing
to honor their promise in the aftermath of the invasion to protect the
sites.

"Quite apart from this, military operations are damaging these sites
forever. There's been a US base in (the ancient city of) Ur for five years
and the walls are cracking because of the weight of military vehicles. It's
like putting an archaeological site under a continuous earthquake," she
writes in her long and devastating appraisal.

Founded in about 4,000 BC, Ur is regarded as the most important in the
history of man-kind as it is mentioned in the Old Testament and believed by
many to be the home of Prophet Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him).

Ur produced some of the first examples of writing, seal inscriptions and
construction.

Zainab Bah-rani, a professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia
University, dismissed US repeated argument that a large military base built
at the ancient city of Babylon as "beggars belief."

"The damage done to Babylon is both extensive and irreparable, and even if
US forces had wanted to protect it, placing guards round the site would have
been far more sensible than bulldozing it and setting up the largest
coalition military headquarters in the region," she said in an analysis sent
to Fisk.

"The occupation has resulted in a tremendous destruction of history well
beyond the museums and libraries looted and destroyed at the fall of
Baghdad," she concludes.

At least seven historical sites have been used by US and occupation forces
as military bases since April 2003, one of them being the historical heart
of Samarra.

"The near total destruction of Iraq's historic past – the very cradle of
human civilization has emerged as one of the most shameful symbols of our
disastrous occupation," Fisk commented.

Farchakh also lashed Iraqi politicians for approving a number of urban
projects in archeological sites — like approving the construction of
mud-brick factories — to appease the different religious parties to which
they are affiliated.

"The longer Iraq finds itself in a state of war, the more the cradle of
civilization is threatened. It may not even last for our grandchildren to
learn from," she says.

18.09.2007
islamonline.net