Jewels of antiquity go to ground

By KIM SENGUPTA

MOSUL - They are packing away the fabulous treasures of Assyria, Sumeria and Babylon at Mosul's archaeological sites and museum in preparation for the war to come, a lesson learned from the damage inflicted in raids by American and British bombers in the Gulf War and the looting that followed.

As Manhal Jabar, the director of antiquities, talks of his worries that still far too much will be left exposed, an air raid siren begins to drone. American and British planes are once again in the sky above Iraq enforcing the northern no-fly zone.

The city and its hinterland has been repeatedly targeted by the allies. Last month they destroyed the radar at the airport.

Now, the fate of the priceless antiquities at Mosul, the site of some of the most precious heritage of the ancient world, is causing deep international worry.

Jabar was in London in March discussing the problem with British specialists, including Professor David Oates of Cambridge and John Curtis of the British Museum. Concern has also come from, among others, France, Italy, Germany and the United States.

Two ancient sites were damaged by American bombs in 1991. A leaning minaret built in 640, Iraq's version of the leaning Tower of Pisa, narrowly escaped destruction in 1994 when a misplaced missile blew up several adjacent houses.

"It is obviously something that is causing unease. If there is war, and they are saying this war is going to be even worse than 1991, then we must accept there will be losses to this heritage," said Jabar.

"But this is not a loss just to Iraq, but to the whole world. The first written word came from here, so many ideas about art and music originated here. It will be a terrible tragedy."

The plan is to move the antiquities to underground vaults in locations that are being kept secret, not least to prevent the systematic theft that took place in 1991, when the regime had lost control of parts of the country. Stolen items from museums and sites ended up in the black market in Europe and North America.

Pointing to a huge, magnificent statue of a mounted warrior from the 8th century BC, Jabar said: "It took two big cranes to move that here. There are bigger pieces outside. I am not sure what we are going to do with them."

Among the wealth of archaeology surrounding Mosul is Nimrud, settled for 1000 years before it became the second capital of Assyria in 1283BC.

There are long British links with the discoveries. Austen Henry Layard's unearthing of the Assyrian Palaces at Nimrud was revealed in the Illustrated London News of 1840.

Agatha Christie spent some time in Mosul in the early 1950s while her husband, the renowned archaeologist Max Mallowan, took part in the excavation at Nimrud.

Her stay provided the inspiration for two of her books, Murder in Mesopotamia, and They Came to Baghdad.

Also nearby are the sites at Nineveh, the cultural centre of the Sumerian and Babylonian empires and the capital of Sennacherib. There is also Hatra, an outpost of the Parthian empire, which has yielded valuable artefacts. Work in these and other sites has been suspended as it is considered too risky.

Some of the treasures from the various sites were taken away to the West, especially Britain. Most of them, including a remarkable number of heads of statues, ended up at the British Museum.

"We have asked for a lot of things back, but they have refused, saying it is too dangerous," said Saba al-Omari, a curator.

"They threaten to bomb us, and then they say they cannot return our heritage because it is simply too dangerous. An interesting proposition, don't you think? The people should not have to live under such a threat of war to themselves and their history."

Among those living in the region are the Yezidis - Kurds who draw their religious beliefs from a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Islam, Christianity and paganism. Their esoteric taboos include wearing blue and eating lettuce. The Yezidi shrine at Ain Sifni, northeast of Mosul, is one of the places of heritage considered to be at risk.

Mosul is also a centre of Christianity in Iraq, although the numbers of Syrian Catholics and Orthodox have dwindled, and Christians now constitute 20,000 out of the population of 1.5 million.

At the oldest church, St Thomass, built on the site of the house occupied by the apostle during his visit to the city, Father Pius talks about the seemingly unstoppable momentum towards war.

"It is crazy, and all the European people I meet say it is a crazy thing to do, but the Americans seem determined," he says.

"There must be a way to resolve this through talking. There is a culture here which is pre-Christian, but it belongs to humanity. I hope it stays safe."

- INDEPENDENT

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