Widely considered as the worst acts of cultural vandalism since World War II, the looting following the United States’ incursions into Iraq beginning in the 1990s has seen the disappearance of thousands of priceless artefacts from the National Museum in Baghdad... many have since found their way back to the Iraqi capital but far more have been lost to a lucrative black market in historical relics where provenance is a particularly dirty word.

Amidst the chaos following the US’ 2003 invasion of Iraq, staff at the National Museum were believed to have secured more than 8,000 artefacts before evacuating the premises but, as invading forces advanced, the museum was stormed by looters who allegedly made off with as many as 15,000 priceless artefacts, chronicling millennia of Mesopotamian civilisation.

In response to this US soldiers were stationed at the museum to "prevent further thefts", with efforts over subsequent years believed to have secured the recovery of about 7,000 pieces, but the majority – more than 8,000 artefacts – are still missing.... FULL STORY