Topic: Martin Sullivan

The National Museum of Iraq (Arabic: المتحف العراقي) is a museum located in Baghdad, Iraq. It contains precious relics from Mesopotamian civilization, thousands of which were looted in 2003 during the Iraq War. On February 23, 2009, the museum was reopened for a day by Iraqi prime minister Al-Maliki, with about half of its looted contents still missing. The museum also has been renewed by adding more room to it, with more than 12 different countries assisting, as well as the United Nations.

It was established by the British traveller and author Gertrude Bell and opened shortly before her death in 1926. It was originally known as the Baghdad Archaeological Museum.

Because of the archaeological riches of Mesopotamia, its collections are amongst the most important in the world; and it has a fine record of scholarship and display. The British connection with the museum (and with Iraq) means that exhibits have always been displayed bilingually (English and Arabic). It contains important artifacts from the over 5,000 year long history of Mesopotamia in 28 galleries and vaults.