DISCUSSION TOPIC: MUSEUMS AND ANCIENT HISTORY (1) -- THE BAGHDAD MUSEUM

Introduction

"Stuff happens and it's untidy," declared U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on 11 April 2003 in the immediate aftermath of the invasion of Baghdad.  "And freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."  Some others, however, explained the apparent chaos that followed the convincing defeat of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces with reference not only to a profound lack of planning but to deep American cultural arrogance as well.

For such critics, there was no better symbol of the ravages of war than the shattered facade of the Iraqi National Museum.  Early press reports suggested that the holes opened up within the collection itself were even that much more gaping than those at the building's entrance.  "What is [happening] is nothing less than the eradication of the material record of the world's first urban, literate civilization," mourned Gil Stern, director of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute.

The scale of the damage was not as extensive as initially feared.  Many of the museum's objects had been hidden away on the eve of the invasion by employees.  Other artifacts have been recovered through the efforts of a number of different legal investigators, including the charismatic U.S. Marine colonel and former New York District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, a classicist and former prosecutor of the rap musician Puff Daddy.

Nonetheless, the Baghdad Museum, founded in 1926 by the traveler and diplomat Gertrude Bell in an era associated with an earlier Western occupation, remains a war casualty of sorts.  If the number of artifacts stolen from the museum was probably just less than 14,000 rather than the initially-reported 170,000, this still represents the largest museum heist in history.

Some Questions

• What happened to the Baghdad Museum in 2003?  What is most interesting about this event?

• To what extent can the looting of the Baghdad Museum be used to link up the ancient past and contemporary times?  Where would you begin in commenting upon these connections?

• What has happened to Iraqi antiquities since 2003?

• How did Saddam Hussein and his government use archaeology and the past?

• To what extent do the contents of the Baghdad Museum offer a meaningful entry point into a discussion of world civilization?

Possible Starting Places

•   Dan Cruickshank, "Return To The Iraq Museum: The Cost Of War," BBC History.

• Hugh Eakin, "The Devastation Of Iraq's Past," New York Review Of Books, 55 (August 14, 2008).

Baghdad Museum And Iraqi Antiquities In The News

•   "Special Reports: Iraq's Museums," Guardian Unlimited.

• National Museum Of Iraq -- Times Topics:  A series of archived articles from the New York Times.

•   Steven Lee Myers, "A Triage To Save The Ruins Of Babylon," New York Times, January 2, 2011.

• Steven Lee Myers, Stephen Farrell and Shiho Fukada, "A Tour Of Iraq's Ancient Sites," New York Times, January 2, 2011.

•   Steven Lee Myers, "Iraqi Treasures Return, But Questions Remain," New York Times, September 7, 2010.

• Bernard Shusman, "Former Director Of Iraq National Museum Remains Haunted By 2003 Looting," Voice Of America News, March 31, 2010.

• Ann Hermes, "Saving Cultural Treasures In War-Torn Lands," Christian Science Monitor, December 7, 2009.

•   Martin Chulov, "Iraq's National Museum To Showcase Its Treasures Online With Aid Of Google," Guardian, November 24, 2009.

•   Rod Nordland, "Google Chief Announces Plan In Baghdad To Put Iraqi Artifacts Online," New York Times, November 24, 2009.

• "Google To Digitise Artefacts At Iraq National Museum," BBC News, November 24, 2009.

• Jane Arraf, "Recent Bomb Damage Another Setback For Iraq Museum," Christian Science Monitor, September 11, 2009.

• "Babylon Damaged During US Occupation: UNESCO," ABC News, July 10, 2009.

•   Steven Lee Myers, "Iraq Museum Reopens Six Years After Looting," New York Times, February 23, 2009.

• "Iraqi National Museum Re-Opens," Guardian, February 23, 2009.

•   Maev Kennedy, "Restored Baghdad Museum Reopens With Most Of Its Greatest Treasures," Guardian, February 23, 2009.

• Jane Arraf, "A Brief Window Opens Into Rarely Seen Iraq Museum," Christian Science Monitor, February 23, 2009.

•   "In Pictures: Iraq Museum Reopens," BBC News, February 23, 2009.

• "Iraq's National Museum Reopened," BBC News, February 23, 2009.

•   Jane Arraf, "Iraq: No Haven For Ancient World's Landmarks," Christian Science Monitor, February 11, 2009.

• Caroline Wyatt, "Murder, Mayhem And Museums," BBC News Magazine, January 6, 2009.

• James Owen, "Neglect, Not Looting, Threatens Iraq Sites, Study Says," National Geographic News, August 12, 2008.

• Bushra Juhi, "Iraq Museum Reclaims 700 Stolen Artifacts," National Geographic News, April 28, 2008.

•   Crispin Thorold, "Baghdad Museum's Slow Recovery," BBC News, December 14, 2007.

• Cara Buckley, "Rare Look Inside Baghdad Museum," New York Times, December 12, 2007.

• Simon Tisdall, "U.S. Hopes Soldiers Play It Safe With New Pack Of Ancient Site Cards," Guardian, June 20, 2007.

• Robin Finn, "Out Of Iraq, But In Pain About Its Lost Treasures," New York Times, December 17, 2006.

•   Roger Cohen, "The Ghost In The Baghdad Museum," New York Times, April 2, 2006.

• Julian Borger, "The Hunt For Iraq's Lost Treasure," Guardian, November 21, 2005.

• Dan Cruickshank, "Review Of 'The Looting Of The Iraq Museum,'" Sunday Times, May 8, 2005.

• Mike Pitts, "Memory Failures," Guardian, January 17, 2005.

• Rory McCarthy and Maev Kennedy, "Babylon Wrecked By War," Guardian, January 15, 2005.

• Maev Kennedy, "Months Of War That Ruined Centuries Of History," Guardian, January 15, 2005.

•   "The British 'Queen' Of Iraq," BBC News, December 2, 2004.

•   Lawrence Pollard, "Clamping Down On The Looting Trade," BBC News, January 14, 2004.

•   "Iraqi Museum Recovers Priceless Vase," BBC News, June 13, 2003.

• "Ancient Iraqi Sites Show Theft, Destruction," National Geographic News, June 11, 2003.

•   "Baghdad Treasures 'Mostly Intact,'" BBC News, June 7, 2003.

•   "Treasure Of Mesopotamia Seized," Newsnight, BBC News, April 30, 2003.

• "Iraqi Antiquities Summit Held," BBC News, April 29, 2003.

• Mary Wiltenberg, "Iraq And Ruin," Christian Science Monitor, April 24, 2003.

• Adam Goodheart, "Missing: A Vase, A Book, A Bird And 10,000 Years Of History," New York Times, April 20, 2003.

•   "Art Gangs 'Looted Iraqi Museums,'" BBC News, April 17, 2003.

• "Saving Iraq's Heritage," Breakfast, BBC News, April 17, 2003.

•   "In Pictures: Baghdad Museum Looted," BBC News, April 14, 2003.

•   "Looters Ransack Baghdad Museum," BBC News, April 12, 2003.

• "Iraq's Artefacts Under Threat," BBC News, March 2, 1998.

Web-Sites

•   National Museum Of Iraq -- Wikipedia: An entry from the on-line encyclopedia.

•   Treasures Of The Iraq Museum In Baghdad:  A photo archive from a traveling exhibit.

•   :  The official web-site of the Iraq Museum.

• Lawrence Rothfield, An Except From 'The Rape Of Mesopotamia -- Behind The Looting Of The Iraq Museum':

• Rape Of Mesopotamia -- Behind The Looting Of The Iraq Museum:  A Google-Books preview of a volume by Lawrence Rothfield.

• Destruction Of Cultural Heritage In Iraq:  A Google-Books preview of a volume edited by Peter Stone.

•   :  Check the index at the bottom of the homepage.

• Lost Treasures:  A listing from the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute.

• Safe Corner -- Saving Antiquities For Everyone:  An on-line web-site dedicated to highlighting issues associated with cultural looting and the illegal antiquities trade.

Articles

• Craig Duff, "Q & A: Stolen-Treasure Hunter Matthew Bogdanos," Time (March 20, 2009).

• Kathryn Hadley, "Controversial Reopening Of Iraq's National Museum," History Today (February 23, 2009).

• Mark Kukis, "Iraq's Ancient Treasures Lost And Found," Time (February 19, 2009).

•   Abigail Hauslohner, "Resurrecting The Baghdad Museum," Time (May 7, 2008).

• Donny George, "The Looting Of The Iraq National Museum," CAA News (May 2008): 8-13.

• Larry Kaplow, "Mess O'Potamian Art," Newsweek (February 2, 2008).

• Robert M. Poole, "Looting Iraq: Making A Difference," Smithsonian (February 2008).

• "Iraq's Heritage Critically Endangered," Archaeology (August 28, 2006).

• Jack Cheng, "All Eyes On Iraq," Archaeology (December 2005).

• Matthew Bogdanos, "The Casualties Of War: The Truth About The Iraq Museum," American Journal Of Archaeology (July 2005):  A very detailed article.

• Lauren Sandler, "The Thieves Of Baghdad," Atlantic (November 2004).

• Alexander H. Joffe, "Museum Madness In Baghdad," Middle East Quarterly (Spring 2004).

• Dina Rizk Khoury, "Iraq's Lost Cultural Heritage," AHA Perspectives (September 2003).

•   Andrew Lawler, "Saving Iraq's Treasures," Smithsonian (June 2003).

Audio And Video Sources

• "Ancient Statue Returned To Iraq," The World, PRI, September 10, 2010.

• "Looted Iraqi Relics Return Home," All Things Considered, September 8, 2010.

• "Podcast: Looting Of The Iraq Museum," American Museum Of Natural History, April 21, 2010.

•   "Iraqi Museum Reopens," Day to Day, February 24, 2009.

• "Iraq's National Museum Reopens," PRI's The World, February 23, 2009.

• "Iraqi Museum Reopens Amid Security Fears," NPR, February 23, 2009.

• "Museum Of Iraq," BBC Hardtalk, December 3, 2006.

• "The Battle For Babylon," BBC Documentary Archive, May 10, 2006.

• "The Looting And Recovery Of Iraqi Treasures," NPR Talk Of The Nation, May 26, 2005.

• "Saving Civilization In A War Zone," WBUR Connection, January 7, 2005.

• "Protecting Ancient History In Iraq: Archaeologists Worry Antiquities, Artifacts Will Be Lost In War," NPR Morning Edition, February 20, 2003.

Some Recommended Resources For Learning About Ancient Mesopotamia

• Iraq -- Origins Of Civilization:  The first episode Michael Wood's wonderful early-1990s Legacy series that explores the significance of different civilizations.

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3

• Part 4

• Part 5

• Part 6

• The other episodes in the Legacy series are also relevant to this lecture series.  These include one-hour segments on India, China, Egypt, Mesoamerica, and Europe.

• Time Life: The Lost Civilisations -- Mesopotamia:

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3

• Part 4

• Part 5

• Part 6

• "Babylon," In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, June 3, 2004:  An introduction to Babylonian civilizations from Melvyn Bragg's excellent BBC talk show.

• "The Library At Nineveh," In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, May 15, 2008.

• Mesopotamia -- The British Museum:  A focused virtual exhibit to the civilization of the Fertile Crescent.

• Mesopotamia:  An overview from History World International.

Bibliography

I have yet to read an introduction to Mesopotamian history that would push into my elite tier of truly exciting works.  The following, however, are some of the books that I would recommend as possible starting places:

• Leick, Gwendolyn.  Mesopotamia:  The Invention Of The City.  London: Penguin, 2001:  A very well-crafted introduction to 2,000 years of Near Eastern history that uses the biographies of select cities as its effective organizing device.

• Roux, Georges.  Ancient Iraq.  Penguin, London, 1992:  A workman-like but accessible overview of Mesopotamian history.

• Bertman, Stephen.  Handbook To Life In Ancient Mesopotamia.  New York:  Oxford, 2003:  A contribution to Oxford's impressive Handbook To Life In The Ancient World series.

• Damrosch, David.  Buried Book: The Loss And Rediscovery Of The Great Epic Of Gilgamesh.  New York: Henry Holt, 2006: Chronicles the nineteenth-century unburying of not just the Epic of Gilgamesh but of the lost civilizations of Sumeria, Babylonia and Assyria.