Cultural Heritage Project in Iraq - Part Two

In April 2009, Dr. Brian Rose, Deputy Director of the Penn Museum was invited by the State Department to help coordinate cultural preservation efforts in Iraq. Along with a team of army specialists and other cultural experts, Dr. Rose visited several cultural heritage sites across the country that experienced significant damage during the past wars. Among these sites was the ancient city of Ur, known as the cradle of civilization and the site of the biblical Garden of Eden. Abdul Amir Abdani, Archaeologial Site Supervisor for the Province of Dhi Qar, tours the "House of Abraham" near the Ziggurat of Ur built by Ur-Nammu in 2100 BCE. The site is said to be the birthplace of the biblical Abraham although there is no archaeological evidence to support this claim. In 2000, Saddam Hussein built a modern "House of Abraham" out of cement bricks in hopes that the Pope would visit on the Anniversary year of the Vatican. The Pope, however, did not come.

The group also tours the site of the Great Death Pit at the Royal Cemetery of Ur dating from 2500BCE. The site, excavated by Sir Leonard Woolley in 1922, yielded the an extraordinary cache of gold and cultural artifacts as well as a dramatic story of human sacrifice. The materials he found, including the headdress of Queen Pu-Abi and a bull-shaped lyre and are the highlights of a new exhibition at the Penn Museum, Discovering Iraq's Ancient Past.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• iraq
• ur
• mespotamia
• saddam hussein
• sumerian
• sumer
• cuneiform
• un-nammu
• cultural heritage

[TejaKali]

Protect the archaeological sites from people like the guy at the beginning of this video, ripping bricks out of the wall and breaking them like it belongs to him. He should get a big fine for that.

[72757373]

Penn Museum and Penn University.. please urge the Iraqis to create a serious Supreme Council of Antiquities and please publicize the crisis of the state of Mesopotamian archaeological preservation throughout academia. We really need your support and influence.

[72757373]

Please protect Iraq's archaeological sites... massive damage has been done already.. this wouldn't be allowed to happen to a European country.

[gamoonbat]

A very good video and thank you for creding Abdul Amir Hamdani, the site supervisor. He has a fabulous dry wit regarding how Saddam Hussein made use of Iraq's archaeological legacy.