Destruction of heritage sites in Syria raises questions about cost of democracy (tags)
Syria, similar to Iraq and Afghanistan, has suffered the loss of thousands of lives during civil wars. But it also has suffered culturally from the ravages of revolutionary conflicts by the destruction of ancient heritage sites that have stood for centuries and, like a human life, can never be replaced.
Gunmen loot 3,500-old Sumerian site (tags)
Attacks like these have increased recently amid reports that contraband trade in Iraqi antiquities scratched by illegal diggers from ancient sites was booming.
Museums warned about Bible-era fakes (tags)
Bible-era relics were forged. If this really happened, it would be very interresting to find out about the amount of forgery among the current relics that are used to authenticate and essentially promote the modern day understanding of Christianity.
Spoils of War: the Antiquities Trade and the Looting of Iraq (tags)
Archaeological destruction throughout Iraq
Theft Iraqi Antiquities By Ann Talbot (tags)
The US reluctance to act cannot be explained by any lack of warning. Professional archaeologists and art historians had told the Pentagon of the danger of looting beforehand. Dr. Irving Finkel of the British Museum told Channel 4 that the looting was "entirely predictable and could easily have been stopped."