Mushin Hasan, the deputy director of the National Museum of Iraq, sits on artifacts detroyed following the looting in April 2003
Image Source: image.guardian.co.uk

Mushin Hasan, the deputy director of the National Museum of Iraq, sits on artifacts detroyed following the looting in April 2003

Detail map of Baghdad, Al Saadoon Park, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq Overview map of Baghdad, Al Saadoon Park, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq

A: Baghdad, Al Saadoon Park, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq

Looting of the National Museum of Iraq

4/6/2003 to 4/12/2003
The National Museum of Iraq
Image Source: upload.wikimedia.org

The National Museum of Iraq

Between April 6 and April 12, 2003 The National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad lost an estimated 15,000 artifacts, including priceless relics of Mesopotamian civilization. The relics were stolen by looters in the days after Baghdad fell to U.S. forces in the Iraq War. Of the objects looted, about 5,000 were still missing in 2003, 4,000 were returned and 6,000 were recovered, according to Lawrence Rothfield, author of Antiquities Under Siege: Cultural Heritage Protection After the Iraq War (2008).

Timeline Themes

Museums / Wunderkammern
Destruction / Loss of Information
Crimes / Forgeries / Hoaxes
Military / Warfare / Cyberwarfare
Archaeology