The largest audience for an ordinary meeting in living memory gathered at Burlington House on 23 February, to hear US Marines Colonel and District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos describe the events that took place at the Iraq Museum in 2003 and the ‘continuing cultural catastrophe’.
Fellows, MPs, Peers and distinguished guests from the cultural heritage sector attended the first Annual APPAG Lecture, a collaborative event between the Society and the All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group. The invited audience included Neil McGregor, director of the British Museum, John Curtis, also of the British Museum, and Lords Redesdale and Montagu representing APPAG.
This was a lecture ‘from the heart, not the pen’ and the Colonel’s zeal for his subject was in no doubt as he gave probably the most passionate and dynamic lecture seen at the Society. Bogdanos dispelled some myths about the looting of the museum, explaining how much of the theft had been highly targeted and how some pieces first thought stolen, had actually been hidden away by museum staff for safety.
Bogdanos praised institutions such as the British Museum for their swift and organised response, but was less positive about organisations whose protests had not translated into action.
‘Unesco was so angry, they held six conferences in the first few months alone,’ the Colonel said to slightly nervous laughter. ‘Can you imagine how furious they were?’
An amnesty initiated by the Colonel resulted in the recovery of over a third of the stolen objects. Since then, he has continued his crusade to recover more and to expose the illicit antiquities trade which is supporting, in part, insurgency and terrorism in Iraq.
While Colonel Bogdanos’s lecture inevitably attracted differing opinons amongst Fellows at the meeting, there was clearly a consensus of admiration for his ability to enthuse and motivate. The message was clear that resources were needed to protect archaeological sites in Iraq and eradicate the international illicit antiquities trade and it was incumbent on the cultural heritage community to lobby for those measures.
OpenCalais helped to tag this with: All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group • British Museum • Iraq • Iraq Museum • John Curtis • Matthew Bogdanos • Neil McGregor • United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Orga
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