The Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles has created a new web-based tracking system for archaeological sites in Jordan. Financed in part by the World Monuments Fund and with extensive support from the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, the million dollar project has been in the works for 3 years and will be available for authorized …
Read the full post →“MEGA database to track Jordan archaeological sites”
Allegedly, at least. The former director of the Iraq Museum, Donny George, is absolutely convinced the 3,000 year old Neo-Assyrian gold earrings came from the excavation of Nimrud which he personally witnessed. The treasures of Nimrud, considered one of the most spectacular finds of the 20th century and compared with the treasures of King Tut’s …
Read the full post →“Christie’s tries to sell stolen Nimrud earrings”
As conditions in Iraq improve, more and more historical attractions are opening back up. Not the main one, though. The National Museum in Baghdad, so brutally looted 5 1/2 years ago, is still a wreck. The US government is stepping up the plate and donating $13 million to restore the museum and support other archaeological …
Read the full post →“US gives $13 million grant to restore Baghdad museum”
A new exhibit of antiquities on display in the Colosseum is showcasing the long history of Italian efforts to fight tomb raiders from the Renaissance to the present. Some 60 works from Italy and abroad, most dating back to classical times, are arranged on the second tier of the Colosseum. All these works were originally …
Read the full post →“500 years of foiling looters on display”
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the looting of the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad. I remember being horrified, aghast, on the verge of tears whenever the realization of what we had lost sunk in. What I didn’t know is how much worse it could get. How the entire country would be stripped of its …
Read the full post →“Cradle of civilization plundered 5 years ago today”
