Iraq recovers 11,000 antiquities over two years

BAGHDAD — Iraq has recovered nearly 11,000 antiquities over the past two years and is continuing negotiations with several countries to retrieve more smuggled and looted artifacts, the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage said Monday.

Ali Ubaid Shalgham, head of the board, told the Iraqi News Agency that “the Ministry of Culture and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage are making intensive efforts to recover Iraqi antiquities smuggled outside the country, through close coordination with Iraqi embassies in various countries around the world.”

He said those efforts “resulted in the recovery of large numbers of antiquities that are now housed at the Iraqi Museum,” after being returned from several countries, including Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Britain, Lebanon and Jordan. Shalgham added that there is “strong and fruitful cooperation with the United States in this file.”

Shalgham said negotiations are ongoing with many countries and that there are “positive indicators for the recovery of new batches of antiquities in the coming days,” particularly items looted during periods of insecurity, those smuggled during the 1990s, and artifacts that had been loaned for academic study and research by international organizations and universities.

He said “around 6,000 antiquities were recovered from Britain alone,” adding that “the current government has succeeded over the past two years in recovering nearly 11,000 antiquities, as part of its serious effort to restore Iraq’s full civilizational heritage.”

Shalgham said Iraqi authorities remain “highly and continuously engaged” in seeking the return of all artifacts that left the country illegally, noting that the Iraqi Museum has recently received a large influx of important recovered pieces through cultural diplomacy.

Iraq’s cultural heritage has been heavily affected by decades of conflict, looting and illegal excavation. More than 15,000 artifacts were stolen from the National Museum in Baghdad in April 2003, while thousands of items were also taken from regional museums and archaeological sites during periods of weak security.

In recent years, Iraqi authorities have intensified recovery efforts through diplomacy, legal action and security operations. In July 2021, Iraq secured the return of about 17,000 looted artifacts from the United States, the largest single repatriation in the country’s history, including thousands of cuneiform tablets dating back more than 4,000 years.

More recently, Iraq’s embassy in London recovered an ancient Akkadian seal dating to around 2250 B.C. that had been stolen from the Duhok Museum in 1991. Iraqi security forces have also reported arrests in multiple governorates linked to antiquities trafficking, including operations in Karbala and Baghdad that resulted in the seizure of archaeological items and rare manuscripts, as authorities continue efforts to curb the illegal trade in cultural property.