The Virtual Museum of Iraq

The National Museum of Iraq, also known as Baghdad Archeological Museum was established in 1926 by the British traveler and author Gertrude Bell. Bell along with T.E. Lawrence, helped to define the outline of the modern state of Iraq. She had a major role during the Arab revolt in World War I and she proposed borders within Mesopotamia to include the three Ottoman Empire villayets that later became Iraq.
The National Museum of Iraq's collections are among the most important in the world because of the archeological riches of Mesopotamia. It contains important artifacts from the over 5'000 year of history of Mesopotamia. It was closed in 1991 during the Gulf War, and was not re-opened until April 28, 2000, on the birthday of Saddam Hussein.
In 2003, thousands of artifacts and collections were looted during the Iraq War even though several antiquities experts and representatives from the American Council for Cultural Policy asked Pentagon and the UK government to ensure the museum safety from both combat and looting. U.S. forces did avoid bombing the site and the museum.
The Virtual Museum of Iraq offers visitors the opportunity to move through eight visual galleries and see highlights from the collection from Prehistoric, Sumerian, Akkadian and Neo - Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Achaemenid and Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian and Islamic. There are also animated video clips, texts and 3d representations of the artifacts which I think makes it very interesting. What I really liked was the terracotta lions from the Babylonian Hole, there are actually two and are thought to be from separate periods. They actually show how terracotta was used for architectural decorations instead of more valuable materials like metal and stone. They are situated in the short staircase of the temple Nisaba and Haja.
You can access the virtual museum by this link and discover the Mesopotamia online!

http://www.virtualmuseumiraq.cnr.it/