Iraq Museum Antiquities1

 

Broadcast: May 14, 2003
By Jerilyn Watson

VOICE ONE:
This is Phoebe Zimmermann.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today, we tell about efforts to recover archeological2 treasures that were stolen from the National Museum of Antiquities¹ in Baghdad, Iraq.
VOICE ONE:
The National Museum of Antiquities in Baghdad is working to recover and repair thousands of stolen and broken objects. These ancient objects from Iraq's past were taken soon after the United States-led coalition² ousted⁴ the government of Saddam Hussein.
The museum's losses include many valuable artworks and objects. No one knows exactly how many objects are missing. A first estimate of one-hundred-seventy-thousand missing objects has been reduced. But museum officials say many thousands have disappeared or been broken.
Last week, teams of American investigators⁵ recovered more than seven-hundred ancient objects and thousands of documents that had been missing from the museum's collection. Some of them had been placed in underground protected areas before the American invasion.
VOICE TWO:
Officials say the museum still has some of its most treasured objects. For example, it still has the burial3 containers of kings of the ancient city of Ur. Muslims, Jews and Christians⁶ recognize Ur as the birthplace of Abraham. Abraham was the ancestor of both the Arab and the Jewish peoples.
Experts say the museum also has artworks showing male cows from the ancient kingdom of Assyria. Museum officials had placed them in a secure place before the war began.
Some stolen pieces also have been returned. For example, a young Iraqi man saw crowds stealing and breaking objects at the museum. He left and returned with a truck.  He and two family members removed a number of objects for safekeeping. They include a statue of an ancient Assyrian king. It is damaged but can be restored. Some objects that were returned, however, have proved to be only copies of ancient pieces. They were being sold in the museum gift store.
VOICE ONE:
Experts say many major treasures are missing. Many are from Sumer, an ancient area in southern Mesopotamia, now southeastern Iraq. These objects are between four-thousand and five-thousand years old. They include a life-size statue of a Sumerian king. Also missing is a statue of a head of a woman, a drinking cup and a musical instrument. The instrument includes the golden head of a male cow. Robbers also took the head of a marble statue of the Greek god Apollo and a large object of ivory that represents an Assyrian god.
VOICE TWO:
For years, archeologists considered the Baghdad museum one of the finest in the world. Its collection includes objects from eleven-thousand years ago. But the most important objects are from ancient Mesopotamia4. The area now includes most of Iraq and parts of Syria and Turkey. The major part of Mesopotamia was between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Scientists say Mesopotamia was the birthplace of civilization.
Mesopotamia was invaded by a number of peoples. They include the Akkadians, Amorites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Parthians, Arabs, Ottomans and the British. Most recently, the United States-led military coalition entered Iraq to oust³ Saddam Hussein's government.
VOICE ONE:
Crowds celebrated⁷ the end of Saddam's rule by breaking statues and other objects in public places. Crowds also stole objects from Saddam's homes and from government buildings. At first, such looters were blamed for all the losses to the National Museum of Antiquities. But United Nations experts say professional art thieves may also be responsible. Officials of the U-N Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-UNESCO--say some thefts apparently⁸ were well planned.
Archeologist McGuire Gibson of the University of Chicago in Illinois believes professional art thieves entered the museum first. He says they took the most important objects. After that, he says looters followed the professionals.
VOICE TWO:
For example, thieves left a copy of the prologue⁹, or introduction, to an ancient document called the Code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi ruled the kingdom of Babylonia thousands of years ago. His code is one of the earliest written collections of laws. Apparently the introduction to the code was not stolen because it was not the true object. But the thieves broke off and carried away heads from valuable statues from an ancient city called Hatra.
VOICE ONE:
Robbers also took a valuable collection of cuneiform tablets called the Sippar Library. The collection contains pieces of stone with cuneiform writing. Cuneiform developed from the oldest form of writing. The library describes life in Mesopotamia over thousands of years. It includes prayers, stories and scientific information. The stone tablets tell about the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies. One story describes the creation of the world.
Iraqi archeologists discovered the library in nineteen-eighty-six. It was in the wreckage¹⁰ of the Temple of Sippar, not far from Baghdad. They found about eight-hundred tablets in good condition. This was the first discovery of its kind ever made. It was the oldest complete library ever found in the place where it was developed. But experts fear that the ancient stone tablets may not have survived.
VOICE TWO:
Museum officials in Baghdad have only incomplete records to help them decide exactly what is missing. The museum was closed for ten years after the Persian Gulf¹¹ war in nineteen-ninety-one. During that time, records were lost.
Although lists are incomplete, officials know that some objects were taken before the most recent war. Some were taken during the last war. Iraqi officials say members of Saddam Hussein's government stole from the collection during the nineteen-nineties.
VOICE ONE:
Many Iraqi archeologists and museum officials criticize the American military for the recent losses. They say the forces that entered Baghdad and other cities did nothing to prevent looting. American troops did not begin guarding the National Museum of Antiquities until days after the crowds entered and wrecked5 the museum.
Before the war, American and UNESCO experts had communicated with the American State Department and Defense¹² Department. The experts described cultural and archeological areas in Iraq that needed protection. The goal was to make sure they were not bombed or robbed.
But coalition commanders say they lacked enough troops to guard museums in Iraq. They also say soldiers are not trained to control crowds. Some experts do not blame the soldiers. Instead, they say the Bush Administration should have provided more support to protect Iraq's treasures.
VOICE TWO:
Today, many organizations are cooperating to restore the missing objects. Coalition soldiers and local guards are trying hard to keep valuable artworks from leaving the country. Muslim clergymen are urging citizens to return stolen objects.
Reports say some missing artworks are being sold illegally on international markets. Others apparently are being offered for sale on Internet Web sites. UNESCO has asked other countries to watch for objects taken from Baghdad. Officials in Jordan responded by finding and returning many museum pieces.
The worldwide police organization Interpol also is looking for stolen objects. So are a number of federal agents from the United States. In Baghdad, a United States Marine¹³ Corps¹⁴ reserve officer is investigating the thefts at the museum. In civilian¹⁵ life, Colonel Matthew Bogdanos works as a government lawyer in New York City.
VOICE ONE:
Archeologist McGuire Gibson believes experts everywhere can help restore the National Museum of Antiquities. He says they should search their own records for descriptions of objects the museum had shown. These artworks then could be listed on the Internet. Antiquities experts, foreign museums and governments are acting¹⁶ to block the sale of stolen treasures. At a meeting in London two weeks ago, representatives of some of the world's leading museums promised to help restore Iraq's cultural treasures.
VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Caty Weaver¹⁷. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for another Explorations program on the Voice of America.

1 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 prologue   

n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕

参考例句：

• A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.不幸的婚姻是痛苦的开始。
• The prologue to the novel is written in the form of a newspaper account.这本小说的序言是以报纸报道的形式写的。

10 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

17 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。