Outrage over horror state of Iraq Musuem
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

The local population here were shocked and saddened over news that Iraq Museum in Baghdad had been looted. Watching from cable news yesterday, members of the public including Muslims were in near tears as they saw what the current state the museum was in.

"US Forces should have ensured that historical sites were safe," some members of the public said in disbelief. "Such artifects - depicting Islamic civilisation dating back to historical times - are owned by the world not just Iraq."

"Failure to safeguard the museum has damaged part of world's history and the heritage of Islamic civilisation," they said.

The Iraq Museum in Baghdad was reopened a few years ago. It had been closed for a decade when the museum undertook in the reinstallation of some 10,000 of the approximately 250,000 artifacts that had been crated and stored during the Gulf War.

Historians pointed out that the museum had exhibited a few outstanding stone sculptures, which were unearthed at Uruk. One of the most beautiful sculptures was a white limestone head of a woman / goddess, which dated back to about 3500-3000 BC.

"Another artefact is a tall alabaster vase (about 3500-3000 BC) with horizontal bands or registers. It depicts a procession at the top with a king presenting a basket of fruit to Inanna - goddess of fertility and love," they said.

They said the Iraq Museum also stored Sumerian sculpture comprising figures of worshipers, either priests or rulers.

"Twelve such sculptures with clasped hands were excavated at the Temple of Abu at Tell Asmar in Iraq and these stone sculptures, believed to be of 2750 -2600 BC, were all kept at the Iraq Museum.

"Another great artefact kept there is a magnificent copper head from Nineveh probably representing Naram-Sin that reigned about 2255-2218 BC. Also exhibited beautiful ivory carvings, found at Nimrud and Khorsabad, which were also made in the same period," they said.

"These museums must be protected at all costs for the sake of preserving history," they said.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin