>> Lehrer: NOW, AN UPDATE ON
WHAT HAPPENED TO IRAQ'S
ANTIQUITIES, AND TO ARTS
CORRESPONDENT JEFFREY BROWN.
>> Reporter: FOR A TIME IN
THE
CONFUSED AFTERMATH OF THE
FALL
OF BAGHDAD, IT APPEARED THE
VERY
CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION HAD
BEEN
ROBBED.
THE PLUNDERING OF IRAQ'S
NATIONAL MUSEUM IN EARLY
APRIL
DREW HEADLINES AND
RECRIMINATIONS AROUND THE
WORLD,
AS PRICELESS ARTIFACTS
SPANNING
THE SUMERIAN TO ISLAMIC
CIVILIZATIONS APPEARED TO BE
COMPLETELY LOST.
THE NEWS MEDIA, INCLUDING THE
NEWSHOUR, REPORTED THAT AS
MANY
AS 170,000 ITEMS MIGHT HAVE
BEEN
STOLEN OR DESTROYED.
U.S. MILITARY COMMANDERS AND
OFFICIALS IN WASHINGTON WERE
CONDEMNED FOR FAILING TO STOP
THE LOOTING.
IN THE MONTHS SINCE, IT'S
BECOME
CLEAR THE LOSS, WHILE REAL,
WAS
FAR LESS THAN INITIALLY
FEARED.
JUST WEEKS AFTER THE INITIAL
LOOTING, A U.S. INTERAGENCY
TEAM
WORKING WITH IRAQI MUSEUM
OFFICIALS BEGAN AN INVENTORY
OF
THE MUSEUM.
SINCE THEN, THOUSANDS OF
VALUABLE ITEMS BELIEVED LOST
HAVE BEEN RECOVERED OR
OTHERWISE
ACCOUNTED FOR: APPROXIMATELY
3,000 ITEMS WERE RETURNED OR
RECOVERED IN RAIDS.
ONE OF THE MOST STUDIED
OBJECTS
IN ART HISTORY WAS RETURNED:
THE
WARKA VASE, CARVED FROM
ALABASTER IN ANCIENT SUMER
BEFORE 3100 B.C., WAS BROUGHT
BACK IN THE TRUNK OF A
VOLKSWAGEN.
SOME TREASURES, IT TURNED
OUT,
HAD BEEN STORED FOR
SAFEKEEPING,
SOME AS FAR BACK AS THE FIRST
GULF WAR.
8,000 ITEMS FROM THE MUSEUM'S
PUBLIC GALLERIES WERE FOUND
STORED IN 179 BOXES IN A
SECRET
VAULT BELIEVED TO BE ON THE
MUSEUM'S GROUNDS.
MORE THAN 6,700 PIECES OF
GOLD
AND JEWELRY WERE HIDDEN IN A
VAULT BELOW BAGHDAD'S CENTRAL
BANK.
SOMETIME DURING THE RECENT
WAR,
THE BASEMENT OF THE BANK HAD
BEEN FLOODED, BURYING MUCH OF
THE NATION'S CURRENCY
RESERVES
ALONG WITH THE MUSEUM'S
HIDDEN
TREASURE.
IN MAY, A "NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC"
TEAM FOUND THREE PUMPS AND
ORGANIZED THE DRAINING OF THE
VAULTS.
OVER THREE WEEKS, THE TEAM
PUMPED OUT MORE THAN HALF A
MILLION GALLONS OF WATER,
RECOVERING MILLIONS OF DINARS
OF
WET CURRENCY, AND BOXES WITH
PRECIOUS GOLD AND JEWELRY
EXCAVATED FROM ROYAL TOMBS IN
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF
NIMRUD,
AND THE ROYAL CEMETERY AT UR.
>> WE'VE CHECKED ALL THE
MATERIAL, ALL THE MATERIAL IS
THERE, NOTHING IS MISSING
FROM
ALL THE THINGS THAT WE HAD
FROM
THE MUSEUM IN THE VAULTS OF
THE
CENTRAL BANK.
>> Reporter: STILL MISSING
ARE
PRECIOUS ITEMS LIKE A
BEAUTIFUL
MARBLE FACE OF A URUK WOMAN
MORE
THAN 5,000 YEARS OLD.
IN THE MEANTIME, MANY
ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES OUTSIDE
BAGHDAD CONTINUE TO BE AT
RISK.
LAST MONTH, A TEAM OF
ARCHEOLOGISTS REPORTED THAT A
OF LOOTING" HAD TAKEN
HOLD IN MANY AREAS AND TENS
OF
THOUSANDS OF ARTIFACTS HAVE
BEEN
DUG UP AND SMUGGLED ABROAD.
IN BAGHDAD TODAY, HOWEVER, IT
WAS A TIME OF HOPE: A SPECIAL
ONE DAY OPENING AT THE
NATIONAL
MUSEUM, WITH THE TREASURES OF
NIMRUD ON VIEW.
FOR MORE NOW ON THE HUNT FOR
MISSING ANTIQUITIES, WE'RE
JOINED FROM BAGHDAD BY MARINE
COLONEL MATTHEW BOGDANOS,
HEAD
OF THE U.S. TEAM OF MILITARY
AND
CIVILIAN INVESTIGATORS TRYING
TO
RECOVER ITEMS TAKEN FROM THE
BAGHDAD MUSEUM.
A RESERVIST NOW ON ACTIVE
DUTY,
COLONEL BOGDANOS IS AN
ASSISTANT
DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN NEW YORK
AND HAS A MASTERS DEGREE IN
CLASSICAL STUDIES.
AND IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN,
HENRY WRIGHT, COORDINATOR OF
A
TEAM OF EXPERTS WHO RECENTLY
VISITED IRAQ FOR THE
"NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC" SOCIETY.
BEGINNING WITH YOU, COLONEL
BOGDANOS IN BAGHDAD, NOW THAT
YOU'VE HAD SEVERAL MONTHS TO
LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED, HOW
SERIOUS WAS THE LOSS THE
MUSEUM?
>> WELL, THAT'S BOTH AN EASY
AND
A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO
ANSWER.
THE EASY PART IS THAT, GIVEN
THE
VALUE OF THESE ITEMS, A
PRICELESS PIECE, RELICS AND
PRICELESS ANTIQUITIES THAT
REPRESENT OUR SHARED
HERITAGE,
THE LOSS OF A SINGLE PIECE IS
AN
ABSOLUTE TRAGEDY.
ON THE OTHER HAND, AS WE HAVE
GONE THROUGH OVER THE LAST
TWO
AND A HALF MONTHS IN THE
INVESTIGATION AND COME TO
GRIPS
WITH EXACTLY WHAT IS MISSING,
WE
HAVE LEARNED THAT THE
ORIGINALLY
REPORTED NUMBERS WERE SIMPLY
INACCURATE.
THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS IS TO
DIVIDE THE MUSEUM IN HALF.
THE PUBLIC GALLERIES
THEMSELVES
CONTAINING SOME OF THE MORE
HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT
ITEMS
FROM THE PUBLIC GALLERIES, WE
HAVE DETERMINED THAT THERE
WERE
42 ITEMS STOLEN.
OF THOSE 42 STOLEN, TEN HAVE
BEEN RETURNED, MOST NOTABLY
THE
SACRED VASE OF WARKA,
OBVIOUSLY
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PIECE
THE
MUSEUM HAD.
SO THAT MEANS 32 PIECES FROM
THE
PUBLIC GALLERIES OR THE
MUSEUM
PROPER, REMAIN MISSING.
TURNING TO THE MAGAZINES OR
THE
STORAGE ROOMS WHICH CONTAIN
EXCAVATION SITE PIECES AND
OTHER
SMALL STATUETTES, PENDANTS,
CYLINDER SEALS, ALL IMPORTANT
IN
THEIR OWN RIGHT.
WELL, IN THOSE STORAGE ROOMS,
WE
HAVE DETERMINED THAT THERE
WERE
APPROXIMATELY 12,000 ITEMS
ORIGINALLY MISSING.
I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT, IF
YOU
HAVE A STRING OF BEADS AND
THERE
ARE 50 BEADS, THOSE WOULD
COUNT
AS 50 PIECES.
OF THOSE, MORE THAN 12,000
PIECES THAT ARE MISSING FROM
THE
STORAGE ROOMS, WE HAVE
RECOVERED
ALMOST 3,000 DURING THE
COURSE
OF THE INVESTIGATION.
>> Reporter: NOW, COLONEL
BOGDANOS, EARLIER REPORTS
WERE
OF ORGANIZED LOOTING, PERHAPS
FROM OUTSIDE, BUT WITH HELP
FROM
INSIDE.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?
>> WELL, THE EVIDENCE HAS
SUGGESTED THROUGHOUT THE
COURSE
OF THE INVESTIGATION AT LEAST
THREE DIFFERENT DYNAMICS THAT
INTERACTED DURING THE LOOTING
PERIOD.
YOU HAVE FIRST INDIVIDUALS
WHO
APPEAR TO HAVE KNOWN WHAT
THEY
WERE LOOKING FOR AND
PRECISELY
ITEMS AS IF FROM A SHOPPING
LIST.
THOSE ARE PRIMARILY THE
PIECES
FROM THE PUBLIC GALLERIES
THAT
WE SPOKE ABOUT.
THEN YOU HAVE, IN THE OLD
STORAGE ROOMS, OR OLD
MAGAZINES,
YOU HAVE WHAT CLEARLY APPEARS
TO
BE WANTON, INDISCRIMINATE
LOOTING.
ENTIRE SHELVES APPEARED...
ARMS
APPEAR TO HAVE SWEPT ACROSS
ENTIRE SHELVES, EMPTYING
THOSE
SHELVES INTO BAGS AND BOXES
THAT
WERE THEN TAKEN AWAY.
BUT YOU ALSO SEE PIECES
STREWN
ABOUT OR PIECES THAT WERE
STOLEN
FROM ONE END OF THE STORAGE
ROOMS AND DROPPED IN ANOTHER.
THESE PIECES TEND TO BE, FOR
THE
MOST PART, EXCAVATION SITE
PIECES, AS I SPOKE ABOUT,
POTTERY SHARDS, SMALLER
STATUETTES AND THOSE TYPES OF
THINGS.
THEN YOU TURN TO THE NEW
MAGAZINES, AN EXHIBIT THAT
WAS
BUILT IN 1986, AND THIS IS
THE
EVIDENCE THAT WE FOUND HERE
IS
THE MOST TROUBLING OF ALL.
IN THE FARTHEST CORNER OF THE
FARTHEST ROOM OF THE MOST
REMOTE
PART OF THE BASEMENT, THERE
IS
AN AREA THAT CONTAINED THE
MOST
PRICELESS COLLECTION, OR ONE
OF
THE MOST PRICELESS
COLLECTIONS
OF COINS, HELLENISTIC, GREEK
ROMAN AND ARABIC COINS, AND
CYLINDER SEALS, TRULY A
REMARKABLE COLLECTION.
WELL, THAT... THE INDIVIDUALS
THAT ENTERED THAT PARTICULAR
STORAGE ROOM, NOT ONLY NEEDED
TO
KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE ITEMS
WERE KEPT, BUT THEY ALSO HAD
THE
KEYS WITH THEM TO ALL OF THE
STORAGE CABINETS.
IRONICALLY, THE INDIVIDUALS
WHO... INDIVIDUAL OR
INDIVIDUALS
WHO WERE DOWN IN THAT
PARTICULAR
AREA DROPPED THE KEYS.
REMEMBER, THERE WAS NO
ELECTRICITY, THERE WERE NO
LIGHTS, SO A TRUE CATASTROPHE
WAS NARROWLY AVERTED.
HOWEVER, THERE WERE A SERIES
OF
103 PLASTIC FISHING
TACKLE-SIZED
BOXES THAT WERE DOWN IN THE
NEW
MAGAZINE.
AND IN THOSE BOXES THERE WERE
ALMOST 10,000 PIECES STOLEN.
AND AS I HAVE SAID, THE
EVIDENCE
CLEARLY SUGGESTS THAT THE
INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS WHO
DID THAT HAD TO HAVE HAD AN
INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF BOTH
THE
MUSEUM AND ITS STORAGE
PRACTICES.
>> Reporter: PROFESSOR
WRIGHT,
IN MICHIGAN, WHAT'S YOUR
ASSESSMENT OF THE DAMAGE AT
THE
MUSEUM?
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN
LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF THE
SITES
OUTSIDE OF THE CITY AROUND
THE
COUNTRY.
>> AS AN EXTERNAL FIGURE, MY
ASSESSMENT OF THE LOSSES IN
THE
MUSEUM ARE THAT THEY ARE
REALLY
QUITE SERIOUS, EVEN IF
THEY'RE
NOT AS SERIOUS AS WE HAD AT
FIRST FEARED.
IN A GIVEN EXCAVATION SEASON
ON
A SYSTEMATIC ARCHEOLOGICAL
EXCAVATION, YOU ARE LUCKY TO
SEE
TEN CYLINDER SEALS.
AND YET A LARGE NUMBER WERE
TAKEN.
THESE ARE OUR BEST INDICATION
OF
THE STRUCTURE OF ANCIENT
POLITICAL HIERARCHIES, THE
POSITIONS OF POWERFUL PRIESTS
AND MERCHANTS.
THESE ARE THE ITEMS WITH
WHICH
THEY SEAL TABLETS OF LEGAL
SORT,
WITH WHICH THEY SEND
MESSAGES,
WITH WHICH THEY SEAL
STOREROOMS.
THERE ARE THERE ARE A
REMARKABLE
INDEX OF HOW THESE EARLIEST
URBAN SOCIETIES OPERATED AND
TO
LOSE ANY NUMBER OF THEM IS
LIKE
TEARING PAGES FROM THE BOOK
OF
HISTORY.
>> Reporter: AND WHAT ABOUT
THE
SITES AROUND THE COUNTRY?
HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF SITES
AROUND IRAQ, PARTICULARLY IN
THE
SOUTH I'VE HEARD THERE'S A
LOT
OF LOOTING.
>> WE FOUND THAT IN THE
NORTH,
LOOTING WAS RELATIVELY MINOR.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DAMAGE
FROM THE DIGGING OF TRENCHES,
PREPARATORY TO MILITARY
ACTION
THAT, FORTUNATELY, DIDN'T
HAPPEN
IN THAT REGION.
AND WE FOUND THAT IN MANY
CASES,
THE U.S. MILITARY AUTHORITIES
HAD PUT 24-HOUR GUARDS ON THE
IMPORTANT SITES IN THE NORTH.
IN THE SOUTH, THE SITUATION
IS
MUCH MORE GRAVE.
IN HALF THE SITES, THE SITE
GUARDS REPRESENTING THE VERY
COMPETENT IRAQI APPARATUS HAD
STAYED ON THE SITES AND
PROTECTED THEM.
BUT IN MORE THAN HALF THE
IMPORTANT MAJOR URBAN CENTERS
THE GUARDS HAD NOT HELD.
THERE WERE IN SOME CASES
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE DIGGING
AWAY,
LOOKING FOR VALUABLES.
WE HAVE NO IDEA OF EXACTLY
HOW
MUCH IS LEAVING THE COUNTRY,
BUT
ONE CAN SPECULATE THAT
THOUSANDS
OF OBJECTS WERE TAKEN OUT
EVERY
DAY, AND THAT IN THE COURSE
OF
ANY WEEK, PROBABLY AS MUCH
LEFT
THE COUNTRY FROM THESE
ILLEGAL
EXCAVATIONS AS LEFT THE
MUSEUM
WHEN IT WAS LOOTED.
>> Reporter: COLONEL BOGDANOS
IN
BAGHDAD, HOW ARE YOU ACTUALLY
GETTING THE PIECES BACK?
GIVE US A SENSE OF HOW THAT'S
WORKING, BOTH THROUGH FORCE
AND
THROUGH COOPERATION.
>> THE FIRST THING WE DID WAS
TO
ESTABLISH AND ANNOUNCE AN
AMNESTY OR NO-QUESTION-ASKED
POLICY THROUGH COMMUNITY
LEADERS
RELIGIOUS CLERICS, WALKING
FROM
MARKETPLACE TO MARKETPLACE
AND
SIMPLY PUTTING OUT THE WORD
TO
THE COMMUNITY THAT ANYONE
COULD
RETURN ITEMS WITHOUT ANY FEAR
OF
RETRIBUTION OR PROSECUTION.
THE SECOND COMPONENT TO THE
METHODOLOGY WAS TO DEVELOP
AND
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THAT
RAPPORT
WITH THE COMMUNITY SO THAT WE
COULD HAVE SOURCES AND
INFORMANTS IN THE COMMUNITY
WHO
WOULD GIVE US INFORMATION
ABOUT
THE POSSIBLE LOCATION OF
PARTICULAR STOLEN PIECES OF
ANTIQUITIES OR ARTIFACTS FROM
THE MUSEUM, AND THEN WE WOULD
ACT ON THAT INFORMATION,
CONDUCTING REALLY LAW
ENFORCEMENT, CLASSIC LAW
ENFORCEMENT RAIDS IN AND
AROUND
BAGHDAD.
THEY COME TO THE GATE, A
STATUE
OF SHAL-MANASSER,
7,000-YEAR-OLD
POT SOMEONE WHO WALKED UP TO
THE
GATE.
WE HAVE THROUGH THE AMNESTY
PROGRAM RECOVERED ALMOST
1,500
OF THE PIECES FROM THE
MUSEUM.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE
ALSO RECOVERED SLIGHTLY MORE
THAN 1,400 PIECES PURSUANT TO
BOTH INVESTIGATIVE RAIDS THAT
WE
HAVE CONDUCTED IN THE AREA,
AND
ALSO THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE
OF
THE INTERNATIONAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND ART
COMMUNITIES
THROUGH SEIZURES IN SEVERAL
COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD.
>> Reporter: PROFESSOR WRIGHT,
I
WONDER, ARE YOU HOPEFUL THAT
MOST WILL BE RECOVERED?
IS IT POSSIBLE OR EVEN LIKELY
THAT MUCH OF THIS WILL NEVER
BE
RECOVERED?
>> IT'S POSSIBLE THAT
IMPORTANT
ITEMS WILL NEVER BE
RECOVERED,
BUT WE CAN HOPE FOR LUCKY
BREAKS.
WE HAVE TO STRENGTHEN THE
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM FOR
GUARDING AGAINST THE MOVEMENT
OF
ILLEGAL ANTIQUITIES.
THERE'S A BILL IN THE HOUSE
NOW,
HOUSE BILL 2009, WHICH WILL
STRENGTHEN OUR CAPACITY TO
BLOCK
THE IMPORT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL
MATERIAL FROM IRAQ INTO THE
STATES.
OTHER COUNTRIES ARE TAKING
SIMILAR MEASURES.
THERE IS HOPE TO GET MUCH OF
IT
BACK, AND THE PROBLEM IS WILL
WE
GET IT BACK WITH THE NUMBERS
STILL ON SO THAT THINGS CAN
BE
PUT BACK IN THEIR PROPER
DOCUMENTED POSITION WHERE
THEY'RE HELPFUL TO FUTURE
RESEARCH OR NOT.
>> Reporter: AND COLONEL
BOGDANOS, ARE YOU HOPEFUL?
HOW LONG DO YOU EXPECT YOUR
INVESTIGATION TO GO ON?
>> I'M A MARINE.
I EXPECT TO RECOVER THESE
ITEMS,
NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES.
AND AGAIN, I AGREE AS I
USUALLY
DO WITH PROFESSOR WRIGHT, IT
IS
GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME AND
IT
REQUIRES PATIENCE.
TO THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN THE
ITEMS, I URGE THEM TO LISTEN
TO
THEIR CONSCIENCE AND THEIR
SENSE
OF DUTY IN RETURNING THOSE
ITEMS.
AND TO THOSE WHO NEED TO BE
GUIDED BY EMOTIONS OTHER THAN
THOSE, MY MESSAGE IS SIMPLE:
WE
WILL FIND YOU, NO MATTER HOW
LONG IT TAKES AND NO MATTER
WHERE YOU ARE, WE WILL FIND
YOU
AND WE WILL RECOVER THIS
PROPERTY.
>> Reporter: WELL, COLONEL
MATTHEW BOGDANOS AND
PROFESSOR
HENRY WRIGHT, THANK YOU BOTH
VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.
Title:
Recovering History
Date:
07-03-2003
Thousands of pieces still missing from the Baghdad Museum. Experts say tens of thousands of artifacts have been dug up throughout Iraq and smuggled abroad.
Courtesy PBS
