Remember when the Taliban blew up the Buddhas of Bamiyan?
Yes, I do.
This is bad, but funny that I'd notice a mention of Nimrud, of all places, twice in one day. Just this morning, as I shat, I was reading an article in the current issue of NGM about Paul Salopek's most recent segment of his journey. This one was spent in refugee camps in Anatolia housing tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.
We have had several threads on syria and how much war Americans (and brits?) can stomach. This time it seems a little different than Bamiyan. According to the article you link, they're looking to sell some of this loot to fund their activities. Not that this should be allowed either, but it seems differently motivated than the Talibaan destruction of the Buddhas. This one plays up looting, and as I recall looting was not an issue in Bamiyan. I've already seen a good bit of Nimrud already housed in Boston, New York, and London, probably as much as still exists in the actual site of Nimrud, thanks to looting. That said, I'm glad that this is being reported for what it is. Callous. Maybe some US-led strikes will buy local archaeologists some time, but my guess is that this sort of thing will continue as long as there is a market.
