While the press went wild accusing the US of blatantly allowing the looting of the Baghdad Museum and destruction of the treasures of Baghdad it seems that little was actually taken and most of what is still missing was an inside job. There was no evidence of forced entry and the cases had been unlocked with keys available only to museum employees.
http://www.statesman.com/nationworld...raqmuseum.html
BAGHDAD — The vast majority of the Iraqi trove of antiquities feared stolen or broken have been found inside the National Museum in Baghdad, according to American investigators who compiled an inventory over the weekend of the ransacked galleries.
A total of 38 pieces, not tens of thousands, are now believed to be missing. Among them is a single display of Babylonian cuneiform tablets that accounts for nine missing items.
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In addition, investigators have counted 22 items that were damaged, including 11 clay pots on display in corridors. Most of those damaged artifacts are restored pieces and can be restored again, museum officials told investigators.
The most significant of the damaged pieces was the Golden Harp of Ur. But investigators determined that the golden head on the damaged antiquity, feared missing, was only a copy. Museum officials confirmed this week to investigators that the original head was placed in a storage vault at the Iraqi Central Bank sometime before the war.
The single most valuable missing piece is the Vase of Warka, a white limestone bowl dating from 3000 B.C