/sci/ - Science & Math

>>5940253

It is Iraq that saddens me the most.

Some of the oldest cities in the world are sitting there only half explored. Now and then local kids dig up 5000 year old artifacts and sell them for $5, and then they are resold on the black market to a small fortune.

There are non-profit groups trying to protect these sires because the government is barely functional at the best of times and lacks the resources to do it themselves.

Nineveh was a massive city state, with only two of the main mounds examined to date, but over 80% of the city still underground. In 1990 they were finding amazing things in the 2nd mound. Then operation desert storm happened, and Iraq has been a mess ever since.