ISIS devastated Mosul Museum, or did it?

Ben Wedeman
By Ben Wedeman, CNN Senior International Correspondent
2 minute read
Updated 4:00 AM EDT, Mon March 13, 2017
Empty stone pedestal lies in the middle of the Mosul museum. ISIS destroyed many statues and artifacts on February of 2015. Looting many other artifacts and selling on them on the black market.
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ISIS destroyed antiquities ... or did it?
02:16 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

At Mosul Museum, ISIS uses vandalism to make a statement

But ISIS may not have destroyed quite as much as it thinks

CNN  — 

To get inside Mosul’s museum, you no longer enter through the main entrance, flanked by the capitals of ancient columns. Instead, you scramble over a pile of rubble and duck through a jagged hole in the wall.

You also might want to wear a flak jacket and a helmet, because the museum is just a few blocks from the front line in west Mosul.

Once you enter, you’re confronted with mounds of rubble. They’re all that remains of an lammasu, a stone-winged bull dating back to the seventh century B.C., an iconic symbol of the once-mighty Assyrian Empire.

A soldier sits in the hole in the wall that is now the entrance to Mosul's museum.
A soldier sits in the hole in the wall that is now the entrance to Mosul's museum.
Adam Dobby/CNN

In February 2015, ISIS posted a video online showing men with sledgehammers and jackhammers destroying one of the museum’s lamassu, and other relics, while others can be seen toppling statue after statue. In typical ISIS fashion, this madness has been edited to include pious songs about idol-smashing in the name of God.

The clip includes a bearded, unnamed man in a black skullcap, who says, “O Muslims, these statues behind me are idols of people from previous centuries who worshiped them instead of God almighty.

“If God has ordered their destruction, they become worthless to us, even if they are worth billions of dollars,” he concludes, followed by more images of vandalism.

Wooden display stands lie on the floor of the Mosul Museum. The museum artifacts were looted and destroyed by ISIS in February 2015. Officials say ISIS smuggled some of the artifacts out of Iraq to sell on the black market.
Wooden display stands lie on the floor of the Mosul Museum. The museum artifacts were looted and destroyed by ISIS in February 2015. Officials say ISIS smuggled some of the artifacts out of Iraq to sell on the black market.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
An empty stone pedestal in the middle of the Mosul museum. ISIS made a video of artifacts being destroyed with sledgehammers and jackhammers.
An empty stone pedestal in the middle of the Mosul museum. ISIS made a video of artifacts being destroyed with sledgehammers and jackhammers.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
The remains of one of Mosul Museum's Iamassu, a winged bull statue more than 2,500 years old. It was a symbol of the might of the great Assyrian Empire.
The remains of one of Mosul Museum's Iamassu, a winged bull statue more than 2,500 years old. It was a symbol of the might of the great Assyrian Empire.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
A large hole in the middle of the floor of the museum was left when ISIS used explosives to access artifacts that were not on display.
A large hole in the middle of the floor of the museum was left when ISIS used explosives to access artifacts that were not on display.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
An ISIS leaflet left on an artifact's remains. The leaflet is a prayer for sleep.
An ISIS leaflet left on an artifact's remains. The leaflet is a prayer for sleep.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
A stone with Islamic writing stands next to a collection of display labels that were used in the curation of the museum.
A stone with Islamic writing stands next to a collection of display labels that were used in the curation of the museum.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
Old manuscripts found inside the Mosul museum. Many of the old books and manuscripts of the museum were burned by ISIS.
Old manuscripts found inside the Mosul museum. Many of the old books and manuscripts of the museum were burned by ISIS.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
An old wooden chest with Arabic writings on it.
An old wooden chest with Arabic writings on it.
Kareem Khadder/CNN
ISIS wrecks Mosul Museum

What isn’t included in this archaeological snuff film was the blast that blew a huge hole in the floor. Empty cabinets, their doors clearly wrenched off, are visible through twisted steel bars. The purpose, said Capt. Firas Abbas of the Iraqi Federal Police, was to gain access to the museum vault. The vault contained smaller but valuable artifacts dating back to prehistory through to the Ottoman period. Those items, Firas said, “ISIS took and sold outside Iraq.”

As we spoke, a blast nearby shook the museum. Gunfire crackled nearby.

When the ISIS video was first posted, archaeologists and others reacted with shock and dismay. But scrutiny of the video revealed that many of the statues weren’t stone, but plaster.

In early 2014, months before ISIS’ lightning seizure of Mosul in June of the same year, around 1,700 items from the museum’s total collection of 2,400 were moved to Baghdad, not because anyone had any inkling of what was to come, but because the Mosul Museum was set for a major facelift.

In other words, many of the statues smashed by sledgehammer-wielding ISIS fanatics were fakes. A quarter of the museum’s collection is lost, like the massive lamassu, but the rest got away.