Tracing the path of illicit antiquities from Iraq

From today's NY Times:

Though Iraqi officials say the scale of current archaeological looting is unprecedented, the buying and smuggling networks are well-established.

"The networks go from Iraq to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, or, if you have very good connections, through Jordan," said Joanne Farchakh, an archaeologist and journalist who is based in Beirut and has studied the looting of Iraqi sites for much of the past decade. "Almost everything being sold here has already been seen in Saudi Arabia," she said. "The dealers used to meet each other at the border."

After American forces first entered Baghdad, looters raided Iraq's major museums and its main library, which is a repository for thousands of cuneiform tablets. But contrary to initial reports in the news media, much of the art stolen from museums was relatively obscure and quickly abandoned by the thieves. As of last week, American and Iraqi investigators had recovered more than 900 pieces.

The looting of archaeological sites, if unchecked, could prove far more devastating. At least a dozen major sites are believed to be under siege, with looters in some locations extracting more in two weeks than archaeologists had unearthed in two decades.

The article recounts encounters with an artifact trader named Khalil near Afak in southern Iraq:

Khalil conceded that Jordan and other neighboring countries had begun stringent border searches for anything that might be construed as looted goods from Iraq. But that, he insisted, was no problem. "We can take the goods to either Syria or Jordan ourselves, and you can pick them up there," he said. . .

"The borders are closed to people like you and me," said Ms. Farchakh, the archaeologist. "But they are no problem for Bedouins who know every small part of the desert."

Posted by David on May 28, 2003 2:47 PM