Antiquities Authority: We submitted requests to convert presidential palaces into museums

BAGHDAD-INA

 
The General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage put forward Wednesday proposals to increase the number of museums in Iraq, while confirming that the Iraqi Museum has become overcrowded with archaeological finds and cannot accommodate more of them.

The head of the Authority, Laith Majid Hussein, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the Iraqi Museum is one of the most important museums in the region, despite its establishment in 1966, but the need now necessitates the existence of a new large museum in order to display thousands of artifacts that have been found, stressing "The need for a large group of museums to accommodate all the finds and collectibles in Iraq."

Hussein stressed, "the necessity of having a museum in every governorate, as in Basra, where one of the presidential palaces was exploited and rehabilitated and became a very important museum, in addition to the Nasiriyah Museum and the Maysan Museum, which will be opened soon after completing some materials and organizational matters, arranging halls and placing collectibles, in addition to exploit the presidential palace in Babylon, which will be rehabilitated to be a large museum in the future.

He pointed out, "The necessity of paying great attention to the issue of museums by the governors and giving importance and care to them through the development of the regions and obtaining the necessary funds to rehabilitate some good and qualified buildings and build buildings to be museums."

He stressed, "The authority has submitted requests to convert palaces into museums and is awaiting approvals, especially that there are many palaces in the capital, Baghdad, that can be exploited and rehabilitated to become museums for the general citizens," noting that "citizens are eager to see museums, and when the Iraqi Museum was opened, many school trips attended, which includes thousands of students, as well as citizens and tourists among the tourist groups that come to Iraq, and whose first request is to visit the Iraqi Museum, especially after its closure for 3 years.

On the antiquities finds, Hussein said, "Iraqi and foreign missions working in Iraq are discovering archaeological finds," explaining that "the Iraqi Museum includes 24 halls, all of which are crowded with archaeological finds, and not all pieces can be displayed in them."
 
He pointed out that "the Iraqi Museum can no longer accommodate the holdings, so the authority hopes that action will be taken on this issue, especially that the government of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is very supportive of the idea of establishing a large and new Iraqi museum."