The Armour Archive

I just seen that,WOW must have gold in hidden compartment.

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Possible Iraqi loot?

I heard several museums were looted to get cash before the invasion.
I wouldn't touch this stuff with a 10' pole.
Assuming, of course, I had $12,000 lying around.

Actually, it sounds like it was purchased from an English collector (the "Westchester Estate"), possibly from some Victorian-era collection. So, yes it was probably looted, but probably done over a century ago, when Europeans considered that kind of looting 'archaeology'. As far as Iraqi museums go, The Iraqi Antiquities Dept. used to be one of the best in the Middle East(I have an MA in Mesopotamian History, so I do know something about this). That changed with the Gulf War, and due to the sanctions, has not improved. Many sites (like the Assyrian palaces in the north) have been looted, but this has NOT been done by the Iraqi government. Say what you want about Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqi Antiquities Dept. has done it's best to preserve what they can, and have been doing emergency excavations on sites that looters have gotten to. The looting seems to be done, on a small scale by individuals or small groups scrounging for artifacts to sell (in order to feed their families, which you really can't blame them for) and on a large scale, by large groups of people that are very organized and are usually funded by collectors or dealer from outside Iraq. There was one site in particular in southern Iraq where they set up machine guns and shot at anyone who tried to approach, and finally the Iraqi army had to drive them out.

If you want more info on the state of Iraqi antiquities and archaeology, the best source are the Nippur Expedition annual reports by McGuire Gibson of the U. of Chicago. See the report for '91-'92 and for '00-'01 in particular.

http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/NIP/Nippur.html#AnnualReports

Jamie
LU2.DUB.SAR

Pretty sweet set of armour.

Huh? It's fugly! Just cause it's old ...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by knyaz:
Huh? It's fugly! Just cause it's old ...</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto

Holy fruit! It looks cheesy. I'd rather buy a car!

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KD7NFY
Gogetter350@aol.com
Think twice, act once, never lose.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by knyaz:
Huh? It's fugly! Just cause it's old ...</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto, ditto.