Dhi Qar archeological wealth equals France's and Italy's combined, expert says

Shafaq News/ The director of the Archaeological Museum in Dhi Qar, Amer Abdul Razzaq, revealed on Sunday that the governorate nests 1,200 archaeological sites, confirming that only 20 spots are currently under study.

Abdul Razzaq told Shafaq News Agency that the archaeological volume of Dhi Qar governorate exceeds that of France and Italy combined, "only 20 sites have been excavated so far. This only 1%."

"The most excavated site is 'Ur site'. With only 5% of its total area being explored so far, 37,000 artifacts have been transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, besides others transferred to European museums and universities, and national museums in Iraq."

" Dhi Qar is the only governorate in Iraq that currently contains ten exploration missions. However, all of them are suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic. They will return to exploration in the governorate as soon as the COVID-19 crisis ends."