"Once I was in Jordan and was offered some stamps dating back thousands of years by a man who said he got the items from a friend in Iraq," Faisal Waleed, an Iraqi excavation expert freelancing for the government, told IslamOnline.net.

"A piece that values more than 50,000 dollars was being sold to me for less than 1,000 and acquired by him for about 10 dollars."

Iraq was once home to Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian and other ancient empires that have left more than 10,000 archaeological sites, most of them legally unexplored.

The sites have been systematically looted by well-organized gangs.

"The history of Mesopotamia that is still undiscovered is under serious risk of being lost at the hands of thieves," warned Mustafa Subhi, the government archaeologist in Babel.

"Even children are being used to search for artefacts without minimum of experience in how excavate," he lamented.

"The government has forgotten that in such places millions of dollars are under the ground. Urgent measures should be taken to prevent Iraq from losing more of its history and culture."

According to UNESCO, it is quite impossible to assess the number of objects that have been illicitly removed from archaeological sites and illicitly trafficked.

"This is a critical problem today, since looting of archaeological sites and plundering of historic buildings continue unabated," said an UNESCO official.

"Illicit excavation at archaeological sites continues to destroy the Iraqi heritage, in particular in the southern region, at such important sites as Isin, Umma and Umm Al-Aqarib."

Government Blamed

Most of Iraq's archaeological sites are in the central areas of the country which have the worst security conditions.

"Lack of security is the main issue leaving archaeological sites vulnerable to gangs that use inexperienced people to excavate and destroy places that hold an ancient and exclusive world’s history," said Waleed, the freelancing excavation expert.

"More investments should be channelled into this area but unfortunately it has been put aside. The government has an obligation to preserve Iraq’s history more than anyone else."

Ayman Abdel Lattif, another Iraqi archaeologist, urged the government to take action.

"If even children are excavating the sites, you can image how deteriorated they are. The police are closing their eyes to the issue and the government is far from the subject. Archaeologists in Iraq who try to help are being threatened by black market gangs," he said.

"There aren’t enough staffers to protect the sites, no investments and even electricity is rare, making it impossible for security guards to keep monitoring during night periods."

The Ministry of Culture admits that as few as 1,000 guards are responsible for the protection of Iraq's 10,000 archaeological sites.

During Saddam Hussein’s regime, thieves who were steeling artefacts faced 15 to 20 years of prison and depending on the value of the stolen antique some were given the death sentence.

Public Sale

At Bab al-Muadham and Central markets, gang members can be easily spotted negotiating artefact items without any fear of being caught by local police.

Ancient coins, Sumerian cylinders used as stamps, gold coins, porcelain plates and even small statues from ancient Gods can be easily found in such markets.

The negotiation is done quickly and for prices that vary from as little as 10 dollars to as high as 100 dollars.

"If we don’t get the antiques, maybe even the Americans will just like they are taking our petrol," said Abu Hussein [who declined to say his real name], an artefact seller at a local market in Baghdad.

"We sell to people who will take care of it and in the meantime we are feeding our families with this income," he argued.

"There isn’t government’s follow-up and anyone can pick such pieces from the places. I buy per bag from two youth of Babel who come every week with many new items."

Bashier Ali, an antique collector who runs a small art shop in Baghdad, buys such items for less than 20 dollars and sell for collectors in Jordan and Syria for values that starts from 3,000 dollars and can reach 10,000 in some cases.

"These people who are excavating and selling have no idea of what they are selling and have no enough culture to differentiate between the items," he said.

"For them everything is just pieces dated very old that can be exchanged for a plate of food or some clothes," added Ali.

"I know this business is illegal but the government should stop the ones who are digging for the artefacts and not businessman."

Some experts recently discovered that four archaeological sites in Najaf, Kerbala and Baghdad were being used as garbage deposit.

"At least some stuff are being protected by being sold to experts and collectors," argued Ali.

"It is much better than leaving so important items mixed with garbage or destroyed by military operations in the areas."

IOL