National Museum of Iraq, Archaeological museum in Baghdad, Iraq
The National Museum of Iraq is an archaeological museum in Baghdad holding objects from several thousand years of Mesopotamian history. The galleries arrange pottery, cylinder seals, clay tablets, sculptures and reliefs by period, helping visitors follow the long succession of different kingdoms.
The museum was founded in the 1920s on the initiative of British archaeologists to house finds from excavations at Ur, Nineveh and other ancient cities. Over many decades the collection grew steadily until political events in the early 21st century led to serious losses.
The name reflects the ambition to gather objects from Sumer, Assyria and Babylonia under one national roof. Many visitors come to see pieces they recognize from school textbooks or television documentaries, connecting the deep past to the present day.
The exhibition rooms follow a chronological route so visitors can trace the development of civilizations in the right order. Signage is provided in Arabic and English, making orientation easier.
Some of the tablets show early examples of cuneiform writing, including administrative texts about grain stores and school exercises from trainee scribes. You can often see the pressed guide lines that helped scribes align their signs before pressing them into the soft clay.
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