Iraq has successfully recovered a collection of ancient artifacts from Japan and Switzerland, the country’s Foreign and Culture Ministries announced on Tuesday.
Shafaq News Agency captured the ceremony of restitution, where the two ministers signed the handover documents, accompanied by a series of photos showcasing the recovered artifacts.
“The artifacts, which include a statue of the Sun God and centuries-old woven textiles, were retrieved as part of intensive government efforts,” Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said during a joint press conference with Minister of Culture Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani. Hussein stressed that “these relics are not just historical remnants but a vital part of Iraq’s national heritage.”
The foreign minister credited diplomatic negotiations and persistent follow-ups in Japan and Switzerland for the “successful recovery.” He reiterated Iraq’s commitment to retrieving more lost artifacts, emphasizing the coordinated efforts of both ministries.
Al-Badrani, in turn, thanked the Foreign Ministry for its extensive work in tracking and reclaiming Iraq’s cultural heritage across multiple countries. He noted that “the recovered artifacts, now returned to the Iraqi Museum, were wrongfully taken and belong to ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.”
Mesopotamia, one of the world’s earliest civilizations, is a key to the Sumerian civilization, which introduced cuneiform script, the earliest known form of writing, around 3100 BCE.
Iraq’s cultural heritage has been severely impacted by looting and conflict, particularly after ISIS seized large areas of the country in 2014, including key archaeological sites. Iraqi and Western officials reported at the time that ISIS militants were trafficking priceless artifacts through intermediaries on the black market.
ISIS militants also developed expertise in the illicit antiquities trade after taking control of large parts of Syria. When they captured Mosul in northern Iraq, they seized roughly 2,000 archaeological sites.
For years, Iraq has been working to reclaim its looted cultural property. Since 2008, the United States has returned more than 1,200 artifacts to Iraq, which suffered extensive looting following the 2003 invasion.
In May 2023, President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid announced the recovery of 6,000 artifacts that had been on loan to the United Kingdom for a century.
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