Substantial damage was caused to the ancient city of Babylon by a military base set up there after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to a UNESCO report released Thursday.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation said that Babylon now needs urgent renovation work.

The damage to the Mesopotamian city, considered one of the cradles of human civilization, was carried out by “digging, cutting, scraping and levelling”, when the military base was there from April 2003 to December 2004.

The Ishtar Gate and Processional Way were among key structures damaged, the UN agency said.

UNESCO quoted a 2005 British Museum report as saying that the US action was “tantamount to establishing a military camp around the Great Pyramid in Egypt or around Stonehenge in Britain”.

Babylon, used as a capital by two renowned kings of antiquity — Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) and Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC), who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, is located about 90 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad.

“The archaeological city was plundered during the war in 2003. Contents of the Nebuchadnezzar and Hammurabi museums and of the Babylon Library and Archive were stolen and destroyed,” said the report.

Babylon is now back under the control of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH).

AFP

Zahi Hawass said an Egyptian man working in Jordan was caught at Nuweiba port trying to smuggle the statue into the country. The antiquities chief said he couldn’t tell exactly the age or historical background of the statue, but said its headpiece suggests it is a female fertility deity. Hawass said the smuggler now faces between three to five years in jail, but this could change to 25 years if a new law is approved in parliament next month.

“When the invasion of Iraq began in 2003, we wrote to the British and American governments asking them to protect Iraq’s heritage and museums,” said Hawass. “But that didn’t happen.” Hawass said that since then his office has been tracking stolen Iraqi artifacts and has recovered some 5,000 items.

Iraqi diplomat Ahmed told reporters that 24,000 stolen artifacts have been returned to Iraq as of July 2008.

AP