In the wake of decades of war and insurgency, European archaeologists are finally returning to Iraq to hunt for centuries-old cultural treasures, according to a Saudi news outlet, Arab News.
A French researcher has recently unearthed a 4,000-year-old cuneiform inscription during a desert dig in Larsa, southern Iraq.
“Larsa is one of the largest sites in Iraq, it covers more than 200 ha,” said Regis Vallet, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research who was leading the France-Iraqi dig.
The team, which consisted of 20 people, working on the excavation made “major discoveries,” Vallet said, such as the residence of a ruler identified by about 60 cuneiform tablets. The tablets have been transferred to Baghdad’s national museum.
According to Vallet, Larsa was an archaeological playground and a “paradise” for exploring ancient Mesopotamia, home to the empire of Akkad, the Babylonians, Alexander the Great, the Christians, the Persians, and Islamic rulers.
Since the 2003 US-led invasion and its bloody aftermath, Iraq’s modern history has been plagued with conflict, which has kept foreign researchers and archeologists away.
Iraq had only “largely stabilized” since Baghdad declared victory in territorial battles against the Islamic State in 2017, and it has become possible to visit again since then, Vallet said.
Laith Majid Hussein, director of the Iraqi Council for Antiquities and Heritage, said that he was delighted to play host and is pleased that his country is back on the map for foreign expeditions.
“This benefits us scientifically,” Hussein said in a statement to AFP, adding that he welcomed the “opportunity to train our staff after such a long interruption.”
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