+500 artifacts stalled: Al-Anbar Museum waits security clearance
Shafaq News – Al-Anbar
The reopening of the al-Anbar Cultural Museum remains on hold as authorities await security clearance to transfer more than 500 archaeological artifacts from Baghdad, an official informed Shafaq News.
Located in Ramadi, the museum—founded in 1981—was heavily damaged during earlier military operations. It has since undergone full restoration by the provincial government, including new display cases, surveillance systems, fire safety equipment, and environmental controls.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Ammar Ali, Director of Antiquities in al-Anbar, confirmed that the Ministry of Culture approved the artifacts’ return. “They’ve been catalogued and prepared for transport. Everything on our side is complete—we are simply waiting for the green light,” he explained.
Meanwhile, researchers and historians consider the museum's reopening essential to reviving the province’s cultural identity.
Omar al-Rawi, a historian specializing in Iraqi heritage, described al-Anbar as rich in archaeological heritage, spanning Assyrian, Babylonian, Abbasid, and Ottoman eras.
He also warned that keeping the artifacts in Baghdad risks deterioration and detachment from their original context. “Keeping these pieces outside the province limits public access—especially for the younger generation, which has never seen its own material history up close.”
In Ramadi, civil activist Mohammed Fahd al-Eisawi described the museum’s reopening as essential for restoring social cohesion, calling it “not optional—but necessary.” He further envisioned it as a cultural and educational hub that could help build a counter-narrative to the province’s recent wartime legacy.
