ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Iraqi Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities revealed on Sunday that foreign countries have allocated $50 million for the maintenance of archaeological sites destroyed by the Islamic State (ISIS). The Media Director of the Antiquities and Heritage Authority, Hakim al-Shammari, told the official al-Sabah Newspaper that coordination has been made with a number of countries, including Italy, the United States, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to preserve the archaeological sites destroyed by ISIS in Nineveh, Diyala and Anbar provinces. Shammari announced the rehabilitation work for the ancient city of Hatra in Nineveh was finished and was carried out by an Italian maintenance team specializing in archaeological work. Iraqi antiquities and archeological sites were subjected to looting and vandalism after 2003, the most severe of which was in 2014 when ISIS occupied large swaths of Iraqi territory. Antiquities were damaged in Nineveh province after ISIS took control of the archaeological areas there and destroyed and sold thousands of pieces in the global market through intermediaries. On a related note, the Minister of Higher Education, Nabil Abdul-Saheb, said on Saturday that 14 billion dinars have been allocated to five universities in Nineveh province for their maintenance and development, the most prominent of which is the University of Mosul. The University of Mosul was occupied by ISIS for more than two years, and large parts of it were destroyed.
