Duhok National Museum: A Window to Kurdistan's Past

The Duhok National Museum serves as a repository of the region's rich cultural heritage, displaying artifacts that narrate the story of Duhok and its surrounding areas. Established in November 2013, the museum's collection includes approximately three thousand artifacts, with a selection of about one thousand on display. The museum's artifacts, all discovered in the Duhok region by Kurdish archaeologists, date back to the seventh millennium BCE. Visitors can explore a diverse range of historical items, including Roman coins, cuneiform texts, pottery, stone vases, oil lamps, glass bottles, medieval books, Greek texts, and Neolithic statues. These artifacts provide insights into the various civilizations that have inhabited the region throughout history. Originally established in 1989, the museum faced closure and evacuation of its artifacts to Baghdad during the Kurdish uprising in 1991. However, two statues from the Parthian period remained and were safeguarded by local authorities. The museum officially reopened in 2013 and continues to preserve and showcase the history and culture of the Kurdistan Region. While the current facility is relatively small, plans are underway to move to a new, larger location with a park and expanded exhibit space.