Displaying items by tag: colonial williamsburg foundation

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Virginia says it has offered to house Iraqi artifacts to protect them from destruction by the Islamic State group.

The foundation says its president, Mitchell Reiss, made the offer to a team of Iraqi archeologists and museum experts who visited earlier this month. Iraqi authorities say the Islamic State group has attacked and destroyed several archaeological sites.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation — which runs a popular living history museum that brings the 18th century to life with actors and restored buildings — announced Friday that it has embarked on a $600 million fundraising campaign.

The foundation launched the private phase of the campaign in 2009 and says it has already raised more than $300 million toward its goal. The public phase begins Saturday, the foundation said.

Colonial Williamsburg is the world’s largest living history museum, with more than 400 restored or reconstructed original buildings in Virginia’s 18th century Williamsburg capitol.