“Do you expect us to throw it all away?”

Southern Iraq is not only home to one of the earliest known literate cultures but has also been subject to heavy looting of its numerous archaeological sites since 1991, especially in the wake of the 2003–2007 Iraq war. Subsequently, ancient cultural objects from Iraq have surfaced on the international antiquities market and in the hands of private collectors, some of them bearing inscriptions in cuneiform, a writing system originating in ancient Iraq. It has been pointed out that these ancient texts have most likely been obtained through conflict-related looting and trafficking. This fact has been rarely disputed in academic circles. However, what should be done with these artefacts has been controversially discussed between archaeologists, criminologists, and cuneiform scholars. While some researchers argue that studying and publishing unprovenanced texts might well be the last chance to save the history of otherwise destroyed ancient cities, others warn that this practice legitimises the trade in looted antiquities, and in turn fuels more looting and destruction. This scholarly debate has been going on for several years, and positions have become more and more entrenched. Especially younger cuneiform scholars are faced with an ethical dilemma and arguably not receiving sufficient guidance to make an informed choice on the matter. Many cuneiform texts in private collections have recently been repatriated, as they had been shown to have left their country of origin illegally. Using these case studies, this chapter argues that a constructive conversation has to be restarted between the two sides to help save the textual legacy of ancient Iraq.