Iraqi archaeologists unearth new Babylonian town

"A new Babylonian town has been discovered by Iraqi archaeologists 180km south of capital city Baghdad.

Mohammed Yahya, head archaeologist from the provincial Antiquities Department in the Province of Diwaniya, revealed that the town, which is more than 20,000 square meters in area, is dotted with administrative quarters, temples and other buildings of magnificent and splendid design.

We have dug up a sectional sounding covering more than 20 square meters and have come across fascinating finds, Iraqi paper Azzaman quoted him, as saying.

While the current name of the town is known, Yahya admitted that its ancient name is still a mystery.

One of the most striking finds in the town has been that of a 30-kilogram Babylonian Duck Weight, which is 20 kilograms more than the ones that have been discovered so far.

Mr Yahyas team also found several cuneiform tablets but he acknowledged that it would be some time for them to be deciphered as Iraqi experts with the knowledge to decipher Mesopotamian script have fled the country.

The researchers also found cylinder seals, which could easily be compared with counterparts discovered in Babylon, 90 kilometers away and what seems like an intricate and highly developed sewage system.

The shape of the finds however, indicated to the researchers that the town existed during the Late Babylonian Period, about 1000 BC.

The scientists have also unearthed four graves. However, they have been left somewhat baffled by the positioning of the bodies.

Two bodies had been cut in half, with one part buried in the wall of a house and the other half in an urn.

The other two had iron nails in their hands, feet and necks indicating that they might have been executed, Mr Yahya added." If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Iraqi loot saved from Ebay

The looters are really active in Iraq too!

A 4,000-year-old clay tablet authorities suspect was smuggled illegally from Iraq was pulled from eBay just minutes before the close of the online auction, authorities said Tuesday.

A German archaeologist had spotted the tablet bearing wedge-shaped cuneiform script on the online auctioneer's Swiss web site, a government official said.

The archaeologist alerted German authorities, who passed the tip onto their Swiss counterparts, said Yves Fischer, who directs the Swiss Federal Office of Culture's department on commerce in cultural objects.

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Controversial Incantation Bowls from Iraq subject of Science Article

After my post about the controversy over a collection of "allegedly" looted incantation bowls, I was contacted by Michael Balter, Contributing Editor to Science Magazine. He provided a copy of his article about the controversy with his permission to distribute it to my readers. Here is his full article that appeared in the October 26 issue of Science:

University Suppresses Report on Provenance of Iraqi Antiquities


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Looted Bowls from Iraq subject of Science Article

After my post about the controversy over a collection of "allegedly" looted incantation bowls, I was contacted by Michael Balter, Contributing Editor to Science Magazine. He provided a copy of his article about the controversy with his permission to distribute it to my readers. Here is his full article that appeared in the October 26 issue of Science:

University Suppresses Report on Provenance of Iraqi Antiquities


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More protests over looted antiquities - this time from Iraq

"One of Britain's leading universities is embroiled in an embarrassing row over hundreds of treasures looted from Iraq.

Found scattered around ancient Mesopotamia, the Aramaic incantation or devil bowls were placed upside down in homes during the sixth to eighth centuries to trap evil spirits. The spells, and information such as the names of the home owners, are not found in any other source. One collection contains the earliest examples of the Bible in Hebrew.

Since the first Gulf War in 1990, Iraq has been a looters' paradise... So when University College London came into possession of 654 "devil" bowls, the biggest collection in the world, loaned from a private collector, suspicions were raised.

The bowls belong to Martin Schoyen, a Norwegian collector of ancient scripts. He bought them in London from a Jordanian who claimed they had been in his family for generations.

UCL set up a committee of inquiry which found that "on the balance of probability" the bowls had, somewhere along the line, been looted from Iraq.

At this point Mr Schoyen sued UCL for their return. Legally his claim is sound, because he has held title for seven years. What has dismayed academics, however, is that the inquiry report was suppressed as part of the out-of-court settlement.

Professor Colin Renfrew, a fellow at Cambridge University and a member of UCL's committee of inquiry, is angry that the settlement said the report should be withheld. A world expert in ancient treasures, Lord Renfrew said UCL had no choice but to return the collection.

"Even if the bowls were looted it is likely that Mr Schoyen, as a good-faith buyer, could have good title to them. Even so there is a good ethical case for their return to Iraq," he said.

"UCL tried to do the right and ethical thing by setting up a committee of inquiry. Then, when threatened with a lawsuit, in my view, it gave way under pressure. How has the largest known collection of incantation bowls been in Jordan for 70 years and nobody knew about it?"

Once again, it looks like politics and capitalism have triumphed over academics and moral responsibility.

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