Iraqi police on Tuesday seized a small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts in the south of the country that officials said were set to be smuggled abroad and sold.

Iraq, home to relics of the world's most ancient urban civilizations, has had its priceless heritage plundered and sold to collectors abroad in the chaotic years since the U.S.-led invasion.

The 39 artifacts were discovered stashed in a hole near a shrine outside the southern city of Nasiriyah, said a police official. They included statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000 years old.
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In a photo released by the Iraqi Police, showing some of the artifacts seized by the police which were discovered hidden near a shrine, in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. Iraqi police on Tuesday seized a small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts in the south of the country, officials said, as authorities investigate the possible smuggling of the statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000-years old.

He said a tip-off led police to believe the pieces were going to be smuggled to Iran.

Pictures of the pieces released by the Iraqi police showed images of animals, men and women carved into flat tablets, a necklace and a carving of a head and torso.

A government official who works with the archaeology department confirmed the seizure.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Iraqi law says all artifacts over 200 years have to be handed over to the Iraqi government for inspection. The country is dotted with ancient archaeological sites that have little or no protection.

The U.S. military was heavily criticized for not protecting the National Museum's treasure of relics and art following Baghdad's fall in 2003. Thieves ransacked the collection, stealing or destroying priceless artifacts that chronicled some 7,000 years of civilization in Mesopotamia, including the ancient Babylonians, Sumerians and Assyrians.

Iraqi and world culture officials have struggled to retrieve the treasures but met with little success. Up to 7,000 pieces were still believed missing when the museum reopened last year.

A U.S. military officer said the sale of stolen antiquities is believed to have helped finance Iraqi extremist groups.