babel in babylon

silly and naive, i know, but i would think that a nation whose majority supports displaying the ten commandments at every government and educational building extant in the us would have a bit more respect for such an immensely historically significant biblical city.

the anthropologist in me cringes to read this.

U.S.-Led Troops Have Damaged Babylon, British Museum Says

American-led troops using the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon as a base have damaged and contaminated artifacts dating back thousands of years in one of the world's most important archaeological sites, the British Museum said Saturday.

For example, military vehicles crushed a 2,600-year-old brick pavement, and archaeological fragments, including broken bricks stamped by King Nebuchadnezzar II, were scattered at the site, a museum report said. The dragons at the Ishtar Gate were marred by cracks and gaps where someone tried to remove their decorative bricks, the report said.