In the United States, Greek-American assistant attorney of New York, Mathew Bogdanos, author of the book, “Thieves of Baghdad”, is a legend – not only for his military activities against Al Kaeda, but because of the fact that he ensured the return to Iraq of thousands of ancient artefacts looted from the country’s museums before and during the war. 

Several years ago, many came to the U.C. Berkeley campus to hear Bogdanos, a colonel in the Marine reserves and a NY homicide prosecutor with an academic background in the classics, detail his efforts to save antiquities looted from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Then he kept the audience rapt with an impassioned account of his work in Iraq, illustrated with personal photos of the mission. He discussed the global illicit antiquities trade and the devastating effect of looting on archaeological sites, as well the lacklustre international response. He also made a strong case for a concerted international effort to stop the illicit antiquities trade.