Save Iraqi culture monument, Public monument in Mansour district, Baghdad, Iraq
The Save Iraqi Culture Monument is a cylindrical column made of fractured stone, supported by multiple arm-like structures extending from its base. The structure stands at a central roundabout next to Al Zawraa Park, serving as a visual focal point in this area of Baghdad.
The work was created in 2010 by sculptor Mohammed Ghani Hikmat as part of a series of four sculptures designed to enhance Baghdad's public spaces. This installation emerged during a period when such public artworks served to preserve cultural continuity and memory.
Cuneiform text carved into the cylindrical stone reads 'writing began here', tying the work directly to Mesopotamia's foundational role in the history of written language.
The monument sits at a main traffic junction beside a park in the Mansour area of the city. Visitors can easily spot it as it stands at a central roundabout with a distinctive visual presence.
The design draws inspiration from a Sumerian cylinder seal, an ancient object type that carried symbols and patterns. This use of an archaeological form directly connects the modern sculpture to Mesopotamian artistic traditions.
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