ABSTRACT
Although not so rich in its scriptural associations as Palestine is, the land of Mesopotamia nevertheless plays a great part in Biblical history and many of the more familiar and more picturesque of the Old Testament stories are concerned with its rulers and peoples. Recent excavations show strong indications that these early civilizations had trade and artistic connections with the Indus valley. The excavations in Iraq have been carried out by various archaeological expeditions. A few of these were working before the war, but it was not until the British Occupation that the country became settled enough or enlightened enough to permit foreign “digs” freely. It was not until 1924 that an adequate Antiquities Law was passed reserving to the people of Iraq the first choice among the objects discovered year by year, the remaining half going to the excavators. The foreign museums that sponsor the expeditions are clearly entitled to add to their own collections of archaeological objects in return for the skill, time and money spent on the work. The country is as clearly entitled to the first choice of remains found within its boundaries. In the result the range of historical knowledge has been immensely increased. Iraq has benefited in that she now possesses, at little or no cost to herself, the finest collection in the world of objects representing the early history of the country; the foreign museums have added to their collections of ancient remains representative objects from this important part of the ancient world.
