60 minutes. Robbing the cradle

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April 30, 2003 - When the world-famous National Museum in Baghdad was plundered a few weeks ago, looters stole thousands of artifacts, some dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. They were, quite literally, robbing the cradle. Mesopotamia is called the 'cradle of civilization' and with good reason. It is here that there is the first evidence of villages and cities; the wheel and the plough were invented here, as were writing, epic poetry, and God. Mesopotamia is also the cradle of archaeology. Europeans began digging here in the mid 19th century. Many of the things they dug up went to museums. Others did not. There's always been a lively underground trade in Mesopotamian artifacts. And with the looting of the museum, it's bound to become a lot livelier, correspondent Bob Simon reports.