UK returns cursed Babylonian stone treasure looted during Iraq War

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A 3,000-year-old carved stone tablet from Babylonia, said to place a curse on anyone who tries to destroy it, is to be flown home from Britain after being looted during the Iraq War. (British Museum)
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Dr. St John Simpson making a speech during the British Museum handover. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)
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Dr. St John Simpson with Iraqi Ambassador Salih Husain Ali during the British Museum handover. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)
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Curator Jonathan Taylor discussing the 3,000-year-old Babylonian tablet. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)
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The 3,000-year-old carved stone tablet from Babylonia. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)
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The 3,000-year-old carved stone tablet from Babylonia. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)
Updated 20 March 2019
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UK returns cursed Babylonian stone treasure looted during Iraq War

LONDON: A 3,000-year-old carved stone tablet from Babylonia, said to place a curse on anyone who tries to destroy it, is to be flown home from Britain after being looted during the Iraq War.
British Museum director Hartwig Fischer handed over the priceless work to Iraqi Ambassador Salih Husain Ali during a ceremony on Tuesday after museum experts had verified its authenticity.
“It is a very important piece of Iraq’s cultural heritage,” said Fischer, praising the “extraordinary and tireless work” of border officials.
The attempt to smuggle the piece into Britain was thwarted by the UK Border Force at London’s Heathrow airport in May 2012.




Dr. St John Simpson with Iraqi Ambassador Salih Husain Ali during the British Museum handover. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)

It had been declared at customs as a carved stone made in Turkey and valued at $330. But when the package was opened it caught the attention of a Border Force officer who recognized that the declaration was false.
After a long investigation against the importer, the case was resolved in favor of Iraq, with coordination from the British Museum, which acts as the specialist adviser on cultural property for the British government.
“They seized this item when they saw it at a British port and several years later, after a lot of legal work, we are able to effect this transfer,” said Michael Ellis, Britain’s Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism. “It’s a very important and significant moment.”
It is still not clear how the object was taken out of Iraq, “but we believe it was probably stolen about 15 years ago during troubles in Iraq,” Ellis added.




Dr. St John Simpson making a speech during the British Museum handover. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)

Ambassador Ali said the handover came after continued cooperation between the Iraqi embassy in London and the British authorities, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Museum and British police.
“As a representative of the Iraqi government, I am looking to receive more handovers in the future if any Iraqi antiquities are found here,” Ambassador Ali told Arab News.

Dr. St. John Simpson, curator at the British Museum, also told Arab News that they "identified it very quickly as a very important inscribed Mesopotamian document of the 12th century B.C. of known king Nebuchadnezzar I, and that this object must have come from illegal excavations fairly recently in Iraq.”
He said from the contents of the inscription it appeared the piece came from Nippur, which was a big ancient Sumerian and Babylonian site in southern Iraq. It was heavily looted in 2003 and the museum believes the object came from that phase of destruction of a known archaeological site.
British minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt, said: “Iraq’s rich civilization, culture and history are globally important and sit at the core of its contemporary national identity. I am therefore delighted that the UK Border Force was able to retrieve the illegally trafficked kudurru and that today we can repatriate it, to sit proudly in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.”




Curator Jonathan Taylor discussing the 3,000-year-old Babylonian tablet. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)

The kudurru is a ceremonial stone tablet recording the legal gifting of land by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar I to one of his subjects in return for distinguished service, according to curator Jonathan Taylor.
On one side are depictions of the great Babylonian gods Enlil and Marduk, and on the other, legal text written in cuneiform, the Babylonian alphabet.
Taylor told Arab News: “What had happened a generation before King Nebuchadnezzar I was that the old dynasty had been swept away, the enemies had invaded, they captured the king, they looted the cities, they also looted the temples and they took away the statue of the city god Marduk, which meant not only the statue had gone but the god Marduk himself had been taken away and they no longer had his protection.”
Taylor added that the inscription says that the great god Enlil, the father of the gods, came up with a plan to save the day, so he created Nebuchadnezzar as the avenger of the Babylonians and the brave king marched into enemy territory, defeated the Elamite, took the statue back, brought it to Babylon and order was restored.
“It is such an important moment in Babylonian history. Forever after the Babylonians told stories about this great, brave king who brought Marduk back, and in response they created the Babylonian epic of creation, which tells about how Marduk was appointed to defeat the forces of chaos and to put order into the universe. So, every spring at the new year festival they recite this epic of creation.”
Taylor said the object also carried “terrible curses” for anyone trying to claim the land or damage the tablet.
“The gift is designed to last forever and there are a list of curses or protective formulas so if anyone should dispute that the gift was made or if they try and hide it, bury it in the dirt, try to destroy it with fire, smash it or get somebody who does not know any better to do it on their behalf, then the gods will curse them in a variety of really horrible ways. So, it is to protect forever this gift in recognition of this act of bravery,” said Taylor.




The 3,000-year-old carved stone tablet from Babylonia. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)

Fewer than 200 such objects are known to exist, and the one handed over on Tuesday was broken and eroded, presenting a problem for sleuths trying to establish its history.
“The basic identification was quite straightforward,” said Taylor. “More difficult was tying down exactly who the king was and what the circumstances were. For that we needed to read the inscription and it was quite worn, there was a lot of damage in the middle of the text. It was old-fashioned bookwork, but we had a few clues.”
Ellis said: “It’s more than just a carved stone... It is a testament to the remarkable history of the Republic of Iraq.”
This is the second handover so far on such a significant level. Eight antiquities were given back to Iraq seven months ago from the British Museum and it is investigating other cases of material coming from Iraq that will have to be returned.
“We would like to reboot our bilateral relations in many fields not just on the humanities side, but we are getting good support from our friends and through the global coalition to defeat terrorism in Iraq, especially Daesh,” said Ali.
Burt added: “This latest repatriation, in conjunction with the British Museum, is just one example of the UK’s ongoing commitment to helping Iraq create for itself a prosperous and secure future following the fall of Daesh; a goal it is well on the way to achieving.”
The initiative is part of a wider Iraqi scheme between the British Museum and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq (SBAH) in Baghdad.




The 3,000-year-old carved stone tablet from Babylonia. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)

The scheme was initiated by Jonathan Tubb, keeper at the museum, in 2015 following the dreadful destruction of places such as Nimrud, Nineveh and Hatra, all in the Mosul region.
“It was quite clear that we couldn’t do anything on the ground, I mean nobody could get into that region and it would have been foolish to do so,” Tubb told Arab News.
The scheme introduced a constructive method of training SBAH employees in all the techniques they would need to confront the aftermath of the destruction, enabling them to work methodically and systematically from day one to record and excavate what was left.
They are trained in surveying, photographic and field archaeology techniques, as well as drone technology and have two excavation projects in Iraq, one in the north in Iraqi Kurdistan and one in the south at ancient Girsu (modern Tello).
“By the end of this scheme of which the first phase will be finished next April, we will have trained 50 employees altogether and they will go back to their various departments and train other people so there will be a drip-down effect of the expertise,” said Tubb.
“We are delighted to say that because of our training, several of the participants have been now appointed to senior positions within the state board and have been given responsibility for assessing the damages at these sites.”


Israel escalates attacks on Lebanon as strikes hit near Beirut airport

A rescuer and a member of the Malaysian battalion of UNIFIL treat a soldier wounded in an Israeli airstrike near Sidon. (AFP)
Updated 9 sec ago
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Israel escalates attacks on Lebanon as strikes hit near Beirut airport

  • Drone strike near Sidon kills three and injures Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers
  • Former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s uncle and family members also killed

BEIRUT: At least 10 people were killed in Lebanon on Thursday in Israeli drone attacks on roads across the south, Mount Lebanon and Bekaa.

Former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s uncle and his family members were also killed by strikes in southern Lebanon.

In Baalbek-Hermel, dozens of victims were laid to rest. They died trapped under the rubble of several flattened buildings, some adjacent to the Baalbek Temple.

In the afternoon, an Israeli strike targeted Tyre.

An Israeli drone hit a car on the Araya road in Mount Lebanon, killing the driver, a 30-year-old woman, making her Israel’s first female target.

Doaa Mattar’s family said that they lost contact with their daughter at the time of the raid.

A relative said that Mattar had taken her friend’s car to drive her family from Beirut to Bhamdoun.

Her body was taken to Hezbollah’s Al-Rassoul Al-Azam Hospital, while two injured passersby — a man and his grandson — were transported to the Sacre Coeur Hospital.

Hours later, another Israeli drone targeted a car on the Awali River road at the entrance to the city of Sidon, south of Beirut.

The strike killed three people inside the vehicle, injured three Lebanese soldiers at a nearby checkpoint and damaged several cars, including a passing UNIFIL convoy bus.

It resulted in five minor injuries among Malaysian UNIFIL soldiers and two civilian injuries.

Meanwhile, Beirut’s southern suburb experienced a violent night of airstrikes that continued until the early hours of Thursday morning, targeting Haret Hreik, Burj Al-Barajneh, Tahwitat Al-Ghadir and Ouzai.

One of the strikes came close to a runway at Beirut airport, causing damage to facilities.

However, airport operations continued, with Middle East Airlines switching to alternative runways for landing minutes after Israel issued evacuation warnings.

All planes heading for Beirut landed shortly before midnight ahead of the Israeli-imposed deadline.

The airstrikes on the southern suburb of Beirut caused extensive damage to residential buildings, shops, schools, social facilities and health centers.

A week of relative calm in Beirut’s southern suburb was shattered as warning sirens caused recently returned residents to flee north.

Many families were forced on to the streets, waiting in their vehicles at a safe distance from the targeted areas.

The Israeli military claimed to have conducted precision strikes against Hezbollah command centers and military infrastructure in the Lebanese capital, according to military spokesman Avichay Adraee.

Israel’s systematic destruction of southern Lebanese towns continued with renewed intensity. Israeli forces reportedly rigged and detonated entire neighborhoods in the border town of Mays Al-Jabal.

Israeli warplanes conducted strikes on the outskirts of Yahmar Al-Shaqif near the Litani River, hitting the town center and eastern areas. The predominantly Christian town of Rmeish, whose residents have steadfastly refused to leave, was also targeted.

In Jbaa, located in the Tuffah region, airstrikes caused significant damage. A separate strike on Bazouriye killed four members of Nasrallah’s extended family, including his uncle, cousins and their grandson.

Reports indicate that Israeli forces used internationally prohibited cluster bombs in their targeting of agricultural fields.

The scope of destruction has reached unprecedented levels in Nabatieh, where medical facilities, businesses, institutions, warehouses and residential buildings have been severely damaged.

Footage shared on social media revealed that entire neighborhoods had been turned into rubble.

Violent clashes erupted on Wednesday evening between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces near Rmeish and Yaroun, opposite the Dovev settlement.

Exchanges of fire were also reported near Aita Al-Shaab when Israeli forces attempted to advance into Lebanese territory.

The death and injury toll continues to mount, with the Bekaa region alone reporting 60 casualties, with dozens wounded.

Scenes of mass burials echoed those from Gaza. Among the dead are multiple generations of families, including the Abu Asbar family, who lost parents, children, grandchildren and in-laws during a single Israeli strike.

The attacks have also threatened Lebanon’s cultural heritage, with damage reported near the historic Baalbek Castle complex and the century-old Al-Manshieh building, known for its cultural artifacts.

The Palmyra Hotel, which has hosted decades of Baalbek festivals, also sustained damage.

Baalbek Mayor Mustafa Al-Shall said: “The enemy is targeting poor and residential neighborhoods, and it did not spare archaeological, heritage and historical sites. The number of martyrs in Baalbek is very high.”

One Israeli strike targeted soldier Raed Dandash, born in 2003, as he was driving his car in the town of Talia, in the Bekaa.

An official statement said: “Along with Raed, the strike killed his sister Nathalie and his brother Mohammed, while their mother was seriously injured.”

Airstrikes hit new areas in northern Bekaa, including the towns of Fakeha and Harfouch, killing one.

Lebanon’s officials were shocked by the attacks that targeted the vicinity of Baalbek Castle.

Culture Minister Mohammed Wissam Mortada sent an urgent appeal to UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay through the head of Lebanon’s permanent mission to the organization, Mustafa Deeb, to “save the castle.”

Several MPs also sent a letter to Azoulay, calling on the international organization to “protect the common heritage of humanity.”

In the letter, MP Najat Saliba called for “the protection of historical sites in Lebanon, especially Baalbek, Tyre, Sidon and other valuable landmarks that are in grave danger due to the escalation of atrocities.”

She said: “These landmarks are priceless not only for our nation but for humanity. They are facing a growing danger with the escalation of the war. Their protection is a responsibility that needs to be assumed in order to preserve a part of human civilization that belongs to our common global and international heritage.”

One building destroyed by Israeli strikes bore an etching showing the year 1928. It was once frequented by French officers during France’s rule over the country.

The Israeli army announced that one of its soldiers “was killed in battles in southern Lebanon, while 60 Hezbollah members were killed during the past 24 hours.”

Hezbollah issued a statement calling on settlers in northern Israel to leave their settlements, warning that they had become become military targets.


Iran’s Pezeshkian says Tehran indifferent to US election result

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran's priority is to develop relations with Islamic and neighboring countries. (AFP/Fi
Updated 31 min 34 sec ago
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Iran’s Pezeshkian says Tehran indifferent to US election result

  • Pezeshkian says ‘it does not matter’ to Iran who won US election
  • Iran government spokesperson plays down importance of Trump

DUBAI: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the result of the US election did not matter to his country, state media reported on Thursday, amid heightened tensions with Washington over its support for Iran’s arch-enemy, Israel.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House following his election victory this week could mean tougher enforcement of US oil sanctions against Iran, which he initiated in 2018 after quitting a nuclear pact between Tehran and global powers.
The Biden administration has strongly supported Israel in its wars against the Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Israeli actions against Iran itself.
Some analysts believe Trump will give Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a greater free hand in dealing with Iran.
“To us it does not matter at all who has won the American election, because our country and system relies on its inner strength and a great and honorable nation,” Pezeshkian said late on Wednesday, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.
It was his first comment on Trump’s election victory.
“We will not be close-minded in developing our relations with other countries (while) we have made it our priority to develop relations with Islamic and neighboring countries,” Pezeshkian said.
It was not immediately clear if Pezeshkian was also referring to the United States, with which Iran does not have diplomatic relations. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state, has banned holding any direct talks with the United States.
An Iranian government spokesperson earlier played down the importance of the US election, while a Revolutionary Guards commander voiced readiness for confrontation.
The Iranian leaders’ main concern is the potential for Trump to empower Netanyahu to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, conduct assassinations and reimpose his “maximum pressure” policy through heightened sanctions on the country’s oil industry.
Some, however, suspect Trump will be cautious about the possibility of war.
In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact’s nuclear limits.
International sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program forced Tehran to reach the 2015 pact under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting the punitive measures.
Trump’s tough stance could force Ayatollah Khamenei to approve talks “whether direct or indirect” with the United States, two Iranian officials have told Reuters.
In September, Pezeshkian said Tehran was ready to end its nuclear standoff with the West, which accuses it of seeking capacity to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.


Diplomatic incident in French-owned Jerusalem compound

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot(R) walks away after cancelling his visit to the Eleona Domain.
Updated 07 November 2024
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Diplomatic incident in French-owned Jerusalem compound

  • “I will not enter the Eleona Domain today, because Israeli security forces entered with weapons, without prior French authorization, without agreeing to leave today,” Barrot said

JERUSALEM: Israeli police entered the French-owned Eleona church compound in Jerusalem, on Thursday, briefly detaining two gendarmes and prompting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to abandon a scheduled visit, an AFP journalist reported.
“I will not enter the Eleona Domain today, because Israeli security forces entered with weapons, without prior French authorization, without agreeing to leave today,” Barrot said at the scene, calling the standoff “unacceptable.”
France claims the sanctuary on the Mount of Olives as its territory under international treaties. It has been the focus of diplomatic incidents in the past.


UN to consider ‘enhanced protection’ as Lebanon warns heritage at risk

Picture shows the destruction at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Baalbek in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley.
Updated 10 sec ago
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UN to consider ‘enhanced protection’ as Lebanon warns heritage at risk

  • A UNESCO committee will meet in extraordinary session in Paris on November 18 to consider the inscription of Lebanese heritage sites
  • “During the devastating war on Lebanon, Israel has caused grave human rights violations and atrocities,” the lawmakers said in their appeal to UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay

BEIRUT: The UN cultural agency UNESCO said Thursday it would consider enhanced protection of ancient sites in Lebanon after a wave of near-misses in strikes by Israel triggered an appeal by Lebanese lawmakers.
Several Israeli strikes in recent weeks on the eastern city of Baalbek and the southern city of Tyre — both strongholds of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah — have hit close to ancient Roman ruins designated by UNESCO as World Heritage sites.
A UNESCO committee will meet in extraordinary session in Paris on November 18 to consider the inscription of Lebanese heritage sites on UNESCO’s list of sites under “enhanced protection,” the agency said.
Enhanced protection status gives heritage sites “high-level immunity from military attacks,” UNESCO said, warning that “criminal prosecutions and sanctions, conducted by the competent authorities, may apply in cases where individuals do not respect the enhanced protection granted to a cultural property.”
The announcement came after more than 100 Lebanese lawmakers appealed to UNESCO to ensure the preservation of heritage sites in areas heavily bombed by Israel during its war with Hezbollah.
“During the devastating war on Lebanon, Israel has caused grave human rights violations and atrocities,” the lawmakers said in their appeal to UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay.
“As parliamentarians, we bring to your attention an urgent need: the protection of Lebanon’s historic sites in Baalbek, Tyre, Sidon, and other invaluable landmarks currently at risk due to the escalation of the atrocities,” it said.
“These cherished landmarks, treasured not only by our nation but by the world, face imminent risk as the war escalates.”
Lebanon is home to six UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Roman ruins in Baalbek and Tyre.
In Baalbek, Israeli strikes on Wednesday destroyed a heritage house dating back to the French mandate and damaged the historic Palmyra Hotel near the city’s Roman temples, according to local authorities.
During its 150-year history, the Palmyra Hotel has welcomed guests including post-war French president Charles de Gaulle and US singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone.
The strikes hit just a few meters (yards) from the ruins, the closest since the start of the war, officials said.
“We are waiting for specialists from UNESCO and the Directorate General of Antiquities” to determine if there was any damage, Baalbek mayor Mustafa Al-Shall told AFP.
Hezbollah and Israel have been at war since late September, when Israel broadened its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border, even as the Gaza war continues.
Since September 23, more than 2,600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to Health Minister Firass Abiad.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah positions and infrastructure, including in Tyre and Baalbek.
“To date, the first remote analyzes have not yet identified visible damage to the World Heritage sites of Baalbek and Tyre,” UNESCO said.
“However, these preliminary assessments will have to be complemented by more precise field inspections when the situation permits.”
UNESCO said it was providing expertise and technical support to Lebanon’s antiquities department to help transport and store artefacts from Tyre, Sidon and Baalbek.
The Lebanese MPs called on Azoulay to “urgently prioritize the protection of these historic sites by mobilizing UNESCO’s authority, securing international attention and advocating for protective measures.”
“This appeal goes beyond physical preservation; it is about safeguarding the traditions, stories and values these sites represent — legacies that connect our past to our future.”
Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on Monday for a ceasefire “to protect our country’s cultural heritage, including the ancient archaeological sites of Baalbek and Tyre.”
He called on the UN Security Council to “take swift and decisive action to protect these historical treasures.”


Israel army tells north Gaza residents to leave ‘combat zone’

Updated 07 November 2024
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Israel army tells north Gaza residents to leave ‘combat zone’

  • “For your safety, move south immediately,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X
  • The latest call follows a series of evacuation orders for large swathes of the Gaza Strip’s north

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military called for the evacuation of several areas in northern Gaza on Thursday, again warning that Palestinian militants were launching rockets from there.
“We inform you that the designated area is considered a dangerous combat zone. For your safety, move south immediately,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X along with a map of the area in Gaza City’s northwest.
The latest call follows a series of evacuation orders for large swathes of the Gaza Strip’s north, where Israeli forces have intensified their operations since early October.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters that “we are isolating Gazan civilians away from Hamas terrorists so we can get to the terrorists” still in that area.
“Right now, there are residents of the northern part of Gaza who have been evacuated to safer places,” he added.