State Board of Antiquities and Heritage counts historical sites in Iraq, summarizes the obstacles it faces

BAGHDAD-INA


State Board of Antiquities and Heritage counted Friday historical (archaeological) sites throughout Iraq, while summarizing the most important challenges facing its work.

 The Director of media office of the Board of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hakim Al-Shammari, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "Iraq owns more than 150 thousand archaeological sites, according to the latest survey conducted on those sites, and these sites include live traces of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Akkadian, urban and Islamic civilizations and all that  relating to the civilizations of Mesopotamia.

Al-Shammari explained that "many challenges face the work of the Board, including theft and indiscriminate excavation, especially since the spread of these sites is in desert areas far from residential areas, in addition to the small number of guards present to protect them."

He added, "The problem of financial allocations is one of the most important challenges facing the Board ," noting that "the lack of allocations affected the process of protecting and fencing sites, as well as the process of excavation and excavation of antiquities."

 He continued, "The staff working in the Board is working to spread the archaeological culture in order to protect these sites and educate people that antiquities are a human wealth for society," stressing that "the antiquities sector needs financial support and attention to archaeological sites, as they contain important wealth over thousands of years."