Treasures From The Cradle Of Civilization

An Iraqi civilian walks through the vault of the National Museum in Baghdad, Iraq, April 12, 2003. The museum housed key artifacts of ancient Mesopotamia, which was known as "The Cradle of Civilization." The museum was ransacked and its contents taken or destroyed after looters went on a rampage after the collapse of President Saddam Hussein's rule.

Civilians inspect Torah scrolls stored in the vaults of the National Museum in Baghdad, April 12, 2003. Looters opened the museum vault and went on a rampage breaking ancient artifacts stored there by museum authorities before the war started.

An official at the National Museum of Antiquities, armed with an iron bar in one hand, stands on guard against looters in Baghdad, April 13, 2003. UNESCO is sending a team of experts to Iraq to assess the damage caused to the country's priceless antiquities. Secretary of State Colin Powell has also said that the U.S. will play a leading role in helping Iraqis recover stolen antiquities.

Museum official Erle Leichty holds a stone tablet from ancient Iraq written in pre-cuneiform at The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia, April 18, 2003. Archaelogists from the museum may help catalog the losses at Baghdad's National Museum of Antiquities, relying in part on their own collection of artifacts from the region.

Richard Zettler, a curator in the Near East collection at The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, sits near replicas of ancient items thought to have been stolen from the National Museum of Antiquities in Baghdad, April 18, 2003.

The Golden Bull's Head from the Lyre (circa 2500 B.C.) is an exact electrolyte replica of an artifact from the National Museum of Iraq that was excavated by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the British Museum at the Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

This gold dagger with lapis handle and sheath from the Tomb of Meskalamdug (circa 2550 B.C.) is an exact electrotype replica of an artifact from the National Museum of Iraq that was excavated by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British Museum at the Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The Golden Helmet of Meskalamdug (circa 2550 B.C.) is an exact electrotype replica of an artifact from the National Museum of Iraq that was excavated by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the British Museum at the Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

This oval gold bowl fluted and engraved with lapis handles (circa 2550 B.C.), is an exact electrotype replica of an artifact from the National Museum of Iraq that was excavated by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the British Museum at the Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

This gold dagger with silver handle from the Tomb of Mesklamdug (circa 2550 B.C.) is an exact electrotype replica of an artifact from the National Museum of Iraq that was excavated by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the British Museum at the Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

This photograph (circa 1933-34) depicts archaeological digs at the Royal Cemetery of the third-millenium Sumerian city of Ur. Southern Mesopotamia, identified as "the Cradle of Civilization," provided the first evidence of written language and is fabled as the location of the Garden of Eden.

Aerial photograph of the Ziggurat at Ur, Iraq (circa 1930). Archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley directed a joint excavation of Ur with the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the British Museum. Ur, the traditional home of the prophet Abraham, represents the highest artistic achievements of the Sumerians.