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Nawala Al-Mutawalli

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Nawala Al-Mutawalli
CitizenshipIraq
Occupation(s)Archaeologist, museum director
Known forDirector of the Iraq Museum during the Battle of Baghdad (2003)
AwardsHonorary membership of the International Association for Assyriology
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Baghdad
Thesis (1994)
Academic work
DisciplineArchaeology
Sub-disciplineEpigraphy and philology
InstitutionsIraq Museum
University of Baghdad

Nawala Ahmed Al-Mutawalli (Arabic: نوال المتولي) is an archaeologist, philologist and former director of the Iraq Museum. She is also Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at the University of Mosul. In 2021 she was appointed as an honorary member of the International Association for Assyriology, in recognition for her work. She is an expert in cuneiform and bullae and has published extensively on the archaeology of Iraq.

Education and career

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Al-Mutalwalli graduated from the University of Baghdad with a degree in archaeology in 1976, and graduated from the same institution with a PhD in 1994.[1] She has excavated at the sites of Tell Aswad, the Hamrin Dam, Ishan Mazyad, Umma,[1] and Aqarquf.[2] She is an expert in cuneiform and bullae and has published extensively on the archaeology of Iraq.[1] From 1995 to 2000 she was Head of Cuneiform at the Iraq Museum.[2] She was subsequently the museum's director from 2000 to 2003.[3][4] In 2000 she co-convened a celebration of 5000 years of writing in Iraq.[5] She was director of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Baghdad from 2017 to 2018.[1]

Iraq Museum and the Battle of Baghdad

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Looting, as a result of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, took place under al-Mutawalli's tenure as director and she estimated at the time that 12,000 objects[note 1] were looted from the collection.[7][8] Reported by The Art Newspaper to be a member of the Ba'ath Party (which was almost compulsory under Sadam Hussein's regime), after the fall of Baghdad, museum employees demanded her resignation.[7] This was based on accusations reported in The Atlantic that Al-Mutawelli had been complicit in longer-term looting of Iraqi antiquities orchestrated by the regime.[3] In The Rape of Mesopotamia, Lawrence Rothfield described how al-Mutawalli was issued with an AK-47, and guarded the museum along side other colleagues and archaeologists preceding the Battle of Baghdad.[9]

Recognition

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In 2021 she was appointed as an honorary member of the International Association for Assyriology, in recognition for her work.[10] She is also Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at the University of Mosul.[11]

Selected works

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  • Al-Mutawalli, Nawala Ahmed, et al. Bullae from the Main Tell: Documents of Umma’s Administration in the Early Old Babylonian Period. With a Contribution by Adelheid Otto. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2024.[12]
  • al-Mutawalli, Nawala Ahmed. 2010. “Administrative Cuneiform Texts from Umma in the Iraq Museum. Excavation of Shara Temple.” Sumer 55: 45–86.
  • Al-Mutawalli N. A New foundation cylinder from the Temple of Nabû ša ḫarê. Iraq. 1999;61:191-194.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ The number given varied at the time, between 33 and 170,000.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Al-Mutawalli, Nawala A.; López Varela, Sandra L. (2023), López Varela, Sandra L. (ed.), "The Story of Nawala A. Al-Mutawalli, a Woman Archaeologist from Iraq", Women in Archaeology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 401–411, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-27650-7_20, ISBN 978-3-031-27649-1, retrieved 2025-03-23
  2. ^ a b "UNIVERSITY OF BAGHDAD TEAM". site.unibo.it. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  3. ^ a b Sandler, Lauren (2004-11-01). "The Thieves of Baghdad". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  4. ^ MacLeod, Donald (2003-07-08). "US archaeologist calls for armed clampdown on Iraq looters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  5. ^ "العراق يحتفل بمرور خمسة آلاف عام على الكتابة". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  6. ^ "Iraq's museums: what really happened". The Guardian. 2003-06-18. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  7. ^ a b "Details of National Museum of Iraq looting emerge". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2003-06-30. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  8. ^ "مديرة متحف بغداد تؤكد سرقة 10 آلاف قطعة أثرية". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  9. ^ Rothfield, Lawrence (2009-08-01). The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-72943-5.
  10. ^ Pappi, Cinzia (2022-07-23). "General Meeting Torino 2021". The International Association for Assyriology. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  11. ^ "Al-Nahrain Engineering Celebrates Arabic Language Day with a Scientific Seminar | جامعة النهرين | Al-Nahrain University". nahrainuniv.edu.iq. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  12. ^ Al-Mutawalli, Nawala Ahmed; Ismael, Khalid Salim; Sallaberger, Walther; Otto, Adelheid (2024). Bullae from the Main Tell: Documents of Umma’s Administration in the Early Old Babylonian Period. With a contribution by Adelheid Otto. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-12170-5.
  13. ^ Al-Mutawalli, Nawala (1999). "A New Foundation Cylinder from the Temple of Nabû Ša H̆arê". Iraq. 61: 191. doi:10.2307/4200475.
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