Shafaq News- Baghdad

A total of 154 artifacts, mostly large and heavy murals from the buildings at the Jubairiya site in Saladin province, have been handed to Iraq’s Department of Public Museums by the excavation mission working there, the department said on Monday, describing them as rare for their artistic, architectural and historical value.

Specialist staff will number and document the pieces according to established archaeological and museum standards and register them in the museum collection, making them available for scientific research, the department said.

According to Rasha Hussein, head of the National Register section, 25 excavation missions have worked in Iraq so far in 2026, including 21 Iraqi and four foreign teams.

Regional tensions following the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on Feb. 28, prevented about 60 foreign archaeological missions from entering Iraq this year, according to the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.