Satellites reveal extent of looting in Iraq

[semillama]

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/satellite-images-reveal-extent-of-harm-to-iraqs-archaeological-sites_10023367.html

"After examining almost 10,000 square kilometres of imagery, containing some 1900 archaeological sites, Stone was able to reveal the extent of damage to the countrys archaeological treasures.

By scrutinising the darkness and sharpness of shadows, she was able to identify holes made by looters and whether they were pre-existing or new. In this way she was able to assess the severity of looting before and after the Gulf War.

According to Stone, 15.75 square kilometers of land have been intensively looted, including 213 archaeological sites.

This is an area many times greater than all the archeological excavations undertaken in southern Iraq.

Stones estimation also revealed that hundreds of thousands of tablets, coins, cylinder seals, statues, terracottas, bronzes and other objects have been stolen till now. (ANI)"


Thanks, Bush!

[L. Coyote]

1. Preserved for thousands of years, destroyed for all time forward.

[Coexist]

2. when I was in college, I worked in a Greek diner with in an Iraqi

he found out that I studied archaeology, and he told me that in his home country (which I had barely heard of at the time, Iran was all the rage back then) there were entire cities underground and people always went into them to get stuff to sell to tourists.

this is just fwiw, not a declaration of belief in his story. I just always found it interesting.