Paris - US and Polish troops participating in the 2003
invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein caused severe and
irreparable damage to the ruins of the ancient city of
Babylon, UNESCO said Thursday in Paris.
'The soldiers probably tore out stones while they were seeking
souvenirs,' the British Museum's John Curtis, a specialist in
Mesopotamian and Persian antiquities, told journalists.
A group of international researchers said in a report prepared for
UNESCO that, in 2003 and 2004, the occupation groups actually removed
hills from the site that contained parts of the ancient city that
had not yet been unearthed.
Dragon figures decorating the fabled Ishtar Gate, part of the
walls of Babylon, were also damaged by soldiers in search of
souvenirs, Curtis said.
From April 2003 to December 2004, the residence of the legendary
King Nebuchadnezzar II (about 630-562 BC) was surrounded by a
military base for coalition forces that was originally to have been
used to protect the site from thieves and vandals.
According to the report, substantial damage was caused to the
archaeological city by 'digging, cutting, scraping and levelling.'
The report noted that there were no signs of 'malicious or
accidental damage' to the city since December 2004.
'The major problems now arise from neglect and lack of
maintenance,' the report says.
Babylon is located 90 kilometers south of Baghdad. The entire site
comprises an area of 9.56 square kilometers. It has been listed as an
archaeological site since 1935. Although partially excavated over the
last century, much of ancient Babylon still remains to be discovered.
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