Hi All
This all hits upon my sensibilities in many ways. First, the English prototype for "Indiana Jones", shall we say, was Sir Leonard Woolley, who was the first and foremost archaeologist to seriously excavate the royal burial sites of UR, and his discoveries were/are still stand as a spectacular paradigm as far as enlightening the world about the roots of Western Civilization.
Yes, I agree with you Elizabeth that the return of the looted artifacts to their land of origins may be something to look forward to and to rejoice in when it happens. But I'm not anticipating that happening anytime soon. As was pointed out, this again is all about money and power, and from the start, it was clear that the barbaric mindset that initiated the invasion and wrecking of Iraq were mindless to the importance of protecing the historical heritage of Iraq. Ironically it was/is also their heritage, since that was where much of their cultural heritage also began about 6,000 years ago.
But the greater damages done have been at various tells and excavation sites scattered around Iraq that have been ruthlessly plundered amid the chaos and the neglectful stupidity demonstrated by the occcupying forces in not protecting these cultural treasures. I exchange views on another forum with people in the middle east and they are of one mind in decrying the overwhelming stupidity of what has transpired in these matters. But then, who ever said that those who purposefully advocate and initiate chaos as solutions to problems were mindful of the consequences of their actions ?
flow....