National Museum of Iraq
Looting of ancient artifacts has a long tradition. As early as 1884, laws passed in Mesopotamia about moving and destroying antiquities. By the end of World War I, British-administrated Mesopotamia created protections for archaeological sites where looting was beginning to become a problem. They established an absolute prohibition on exporting antiquities. The British Museum was responsible for the sites and museums across Iraq during this time period. Gertrude Bell, well known for drawing the Iraq borders, excavated many sites around Iraq and created what is now the National Museum of Iraq.