Busted Stuff
Fox News is reporting that American troops have broken a bunch of priceless archaeological artifacts in Babylon.
I have a unique perspective, being both an ancient historian and a "military dude." I think it prudent to recap a number of things.
* Unlike many sites around the world, Babylon has been around, and known, for many, many years. It has already been exploited and researched.
* While there is probably no doubt that sand from Babylon has been used to fill sand bags, let's not forget that Americans found Babylon already damaged and looted, and established a camp for the sole reason of protecting the site. We also know that Saddam Hussein systemically used archaeological sites as military depots in order to prevent their attack (Link, Link); just think of the international outcry that would have been heard if one of these sites had been damaged by a Tomahawk missile hitting an adjuacent Iraqi MIG.
* Prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq was closed to archaeologists, including those from the British Museum. They have no way of knowing the extent of the damage prior to the Coalition invasion.
The rest of the article seems to say that efforts are being taken to ensure the site stays in good repair. That's precisely the correct thing to do.
For the record, the British Museum is amazing. It's full of all the things the Brits knicked from around the world.
LONDON — U.S.-led troops using the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon (search) as a base have damaged and contaminated artifacts dating back thousands of years in one of the world's most important archaeological sites, the British Museum said Saturday.
For example, military vehicles crushed a 2,600-year-old brick pavement, and archaeological fragments, including broken bricks stamped by King Nebuchadnezzar II (search) around the same time, were scattered across the site, a museum report said.
The dragons at the Ishtar Gate (search) were marred by cracks and gaps where someone tried to remove their decorative bricks, the paper said.
John Curtis, keeper of the British Museum's (search) Near East department, who was invited by the Iraqis to study the site, also found that large quantities of sand mixed with archaeological fragments have been taken from the site to fill military sandbags.
I have a unique perspective, being both an ancient historian and a "military dude." I think it prudent to recap a number of things.
* Unlike many sites around the world, Babylon has been around, and known, for many, many years. It has already been exploited and researched.
* While there is probably no doubt that sand from Babylon has been used to fill sand bags, let's not forget that Americans found Babylon already damaged and looted, and established a camp for the sole reason of protecting the site. We also know that Saddam Hussein systemically used archaeological sites as military depots in order to prevent their attack (Link, Link); just think of the international outcry that would have been heard if one of these sites had been damaged by a Tomahawk missile hitting an adjuacent Iraqi MIG.
* Prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq was closed to archaeologists, including those from the British Museum. They have no way of knowing the extent of the damage prior to the Coalition invasion.
The rest of the article seems to say that efforts are being taken to ensure the site stays in good repair. That's precisely the correct thing to do.
For the record, the British Museum is amazing. It's full of all the things the Brits knicked from around the world.
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