January 14, 2005
O Babylon!
I believe it was Saddam Hussein who first planted a military base near the ruins of ancient Babylon (along with one of his grandiose palaces), but why coalition forces had to set up shop there subsequently, I have never fully understood.
At the time, however, it seemed as if there would be some pluses and some minuses, the main plus being the unlikeliness of significant looting under the noses of the occupying forces. Whether this has been outweighed by the damage wrought, however, remains an open question -- a question just made more pressing by a British Museum report detailing the extent of the damage and calling for a full investigation.
The Guardian has articles on the report here, here, and here, along with others that I haven't bothered to link. Alas, the situation is undoubtedly yet worse at the sites that were left to the looters.
Posted by David on January 14, 2005 10:23 PM
"At the time, however, it seemed as if there would be some pluses and some minuses, the main plus being the unlikeliness of significant looting under the noses of the occupying forces."
Then again, ammo dumps were looted under the noses of the occupying forces, too...
Posted by: Jon H on January 14, 2005 11:21 PM
Then again, ammo dumps were looted under the noses of the occupying forces, too...
But not from actual coalition bases, to my knowledge.
Posted by: David on January 15, 2005 10:13 AM
From what I've read, Hussein was fairly supportive of archeological activities in Iraq and saw the ruins of Babylon, Sumer and Ur as valuable.
If he wasn't he could have sold off all the treasures in the Iraq Museum... but instead made them accessable to many people.
It's one thing to put a military base NEAR a ruin, but quite another to put one IN a ruin.
Posted by: on January 17, 2005 3:36 AM
In decrying American negligence, it's important not to misrepresent what came before. You can start by reading here about Saddam Hussein's "reconstruction" of ancient Babylon. And don't forget that it was he who deliberately placed military assets near or on archeological sites, in parallel to his use of "human shields", during both Gulf Wars.
Posted by: David on January 17, 2005 9:39 AM
cronaca.com