August 7, 2013 - Over a decade ago, the Iraq National Museum sat in ruin when looters pilfered tens of thousands of antiquities, leaving several of the glass displays shattered among the museum floor.

The stolen artifacts ranged from various cylinder seals with intricate carvings to statues and figures carved from ivory that once stood in royal palace halls. Nonetheless, all of these pieces, no matter their size or worth, are all significant losses as they are each an irreplaceable part of human history.

Efforts to recover as many of the artifacts as possible have been somewhat successful, considering that over 38,000 items have been restored to their rightful locations within the museum. Despite all this, countless objects remain lost and may never be replaced.

More good news for the museum emerged in 2009 when the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (IICAH) opened in Erbil, Iraq. Since then, IICAH has provided support in the form of 24-week conservation training sessions for over a hundred museum staff members in the region. Students from all walks of life with a passion for conserving the heritage of the museum have been actively engaged in the process of keeping Iraq's history as the cradle of civilization preserved by participating in this institution.

 

The Iraq National Museum officially reopened in February of 2009, offering visitors access to 8 of the museum's more than 20 halls, though concerns of proper security delayed the reopening. Following this, the museum was closed yet again when funding for a complete renovation was secured in mid-2010. Nowadays the museum is fully operational and, although efforts to recover the remaining looted may never be fully realized, the museum continues to flourish as new artifacts continue to be added to the museum displays each year.

Edited by Uruk Shendaj