Iraq to reopen museum

Source: "Iraq to reopen museum looted in US invasion chaos," SAMEER N. YACOUB, The Associated Press, February 23, 2009.

Iraq's restored National Museum is reopening today.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have said about 15,000 artifacts were stolen from the museum and about 8,500 of those items had been recovered. A number of countries in the region, including Jordan, Syria and Egypt, have returned stolen objects to Iraq......

Up to 7,000 pieces are still missing, including about 40 to 50 considered to be of great historical importance, according to the U.N. cultural body UNESCO.

UNESCO has been of great help to Iraq in ascertaining the damage done during the invasion and its aftermath and helping to mobilize the international community to support the restoration of the museum and its collection. The recuperation of the stolen articles was made possible in large part due to the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Broken Classical sculpture from Roman gallery, 2003
Source: The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago