Transcript --by myconsent (for reference only)
For more than one thousand years, Babylon was one of the world’s most celebrated cities, where King Nebuchadnezzar II is believed to have built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The ruins of the ancient Mesopotamian city are roughly 60 miles south of modern-day Baghdad. The site declined and fell into ruin after it was conquered by the Persians under Cyrus the Great.
After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the site was occupied by multinational troops, using it as a base.
After April 9th, 2003, U.S. and Polish forces entered the city, these forces made sentry towers around the city. In fact, the existence of the military vehicles and helicopters caused damage to this archeological site.
Unfortunately, a lot has been destroyed, because a military base was positioned right within the ruins of Babylon. We deeply regret that and the Iraqi colleagues will now have to clear the damage preferably with international help.
A major museum exhibit focusing on ancient Babylon organized by the Louvre in Paris is currently on show in Berlin. The Louvre says it had hoped the national museum in Baghdad would contribute to the exhibit.
But Baghdad's security status was deemed too perilous to transport priceless treasures to the airport and put them safely on a plane.
We had hoped for quite a number of clay tablets, but also bigger objects, such as sculptures and relief. This would have been great. Unfortunately it is not available now.
The Polish-led force moved out of Babylon at the beginning of 2005 when the Iraqi Culture Ministry assumed control in the site.
A report in 2004 by the British Museum said forces from the US-led coalition crashed part of the ancient Iraqi city’s 2600-year-old brick-paved streets with their tanks, and used soil-containing archeological fragments to fill sandbags.
Iraq has requested the Babylon be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and that it is hoped the ancient city will once again become a major tourist attraction. |