Iraqi archaeologist who fought to prevent looting of the Iraq National Museum died in March 2011.
Published 15 Mar 2011
When the Allies invaded Iraq, George was director of research at the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. Subsequently, the Iraq National Museum was looted and around 15,000 objects were stolen or destroyed. George and his staff worked with locals and managed to recover about half of the objects. George subsequently became head of the museum. "He worked to repair the damage, installing guard houses and building concrete barriers. He obtained aid from Italy to build a new Assyrian hall and started a conservation training programme. He also moved to protect Iraq’s many archaeological sites, establishing an archaeological police force, though the difficult security situation in the countryside means that its effectiveness has been limited."
See the whole obituary here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8384058/Donny-George.html#disqus_thread
When the Allies invaded Iraq, George was director of research at the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. Subsequently, the Iraq National Museum was looted and around 15,000 objects were stolen or destroyed. George and his staff worked with locals and managed to recover about half of the objects. George subsequently became head of the museum. "He worked to repair the damage, installing guard houses and building concrete barriers. He obtained aid from Italy to build a new Assyrian hall and started a conservation training programme. He also moved to protect Iraq’s many archaeological sites, establishing an archaeological police force, though the difficult security situation in the countryside means that its effectiveness has been limited."
See the whole obituary here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8384058/Donny-George.html#disqus_thread
