LONDON—An international team of archaeologists found no evidence of recent looting on a visit to ancient sites in southern Iraq last month, according to the Art Newspaper. The trip, organized by John Curtis, head of the British Museum's Middle East department, included stops at the eight most important archaeological sites in the region, which are under control of the British Army: Ur, Ubaid, Eridu, Warka, Larsa, Tell el-Ouelli, Lagash, and Tell el-Lahm. Most of the sites had not been visited by international specialists since 2003.

Despite concern expressed by many scholars about the recent looting of Iraq's archaeological sites, no evidence of this was found at any of the sites. The only marks of illegal digging were holes partially covered with silt and vegetation, indicating that they were at least a few years old. Curtis said he was "very surprised" by the situation, but stressed that "it may not be typical of the country as a whole, and the situation could well be worse further north." He offered a number of possible explanations for the situation, including watchtowers that had been erected in 2003, traveling police teams that have been employed in addition to site guards, and the drying up of the international market for Iraqi antiquities.

The team did find substantial damage caused by both the Iraqi military and coalition forces, as well as decay due to neglect at a number of the sites.