He is one of the great figures of Iraqi history. Now, 3,000 years after his death, the Assyrian warrior-king Ashurnasirpal II, founder of the ancient city of Nimrud, is the figurehead of a battle to reclaim that nation's heritage. The Iraqi government has demanded the return of a relief commissioned by the king in the 9th century BC. Unearthed by the British in the 1840s, the privately owned winged deity was offered for sale yesterday in New York, where it was expected to fetch $10 million at auction. The controversy highlights a reality that the great museums of the West, bulging with artefacts taken during the days of empire, can no longer ignore. The time has surely come to return the ancient world's looted treasures.
Reliefs from Nimrud can be found in more than 60 institutions around the world. The British Museum alone holds thousands of objects taken from Iraq by Sir Austen Henry Layard, who sold the Ashurnasirpal relief to an American missionary in 1859. Auction house Christie’s and the museum, which is about to open a major exhibition about Ashurbanipal, another Assyrian king, insist Layard had the permission of the Ottoman authorities, but this is a red herring. The museum uses the same justification for retaining Greece’s Elgin Marbles, but in both cases the Ottomans were an occupying power.
There are signs the tide may be turning. The V&A in London plans to return items taken from Ethiopia by British troops 150 years ago. A German museum has already returned artefacts excavated from Alaskan tribal graves in the 19th century. The burden of repatriation, doubtless a mammoth task, should fall on those who have benefited from them for so long. Some nations of origin might feel they lack the necessary expertise, in which case they should be offered support. In return, they might be persuaded to loan back artefacts, to be displayed alternately at home and abroad. The British Museum has done much to help Iraq to recover from the destruction wrought by ISIS by training a new generation of Iraqi archaeologists. Now it should go further and lead the world's other great institutions in restoring the lost heritage of the ancient world to the lands where it rightfully belongs.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Summer special
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
The winners
Fiction
- ‘Amreekiya’ by Lena Mahmoud
- ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid
The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award
- ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi; translated by Ramon J Stern
- ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres
The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award
- ‘Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah
Children/Young Adult
- ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb
RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.