Now, 3, 000-year-old ivory artifacts recovered by Mallowan between 1949 and 1963 from the ancient city of Nimrud, in what is now Iraq, and likely cleaned by his famous wife using cotton wool buds and face cream, go on display Monday at the British Museum in London.

CNN: Agatha Christie's secret life as an archaeologist

Federal investigators usually take possession of plane parts following a crash, but pieces of wreckage recovered from aircraft involved in the attacks have been treated as historical artifacts and become part of museum collections, he said.

WSJ: 9/11 Remains Sought in Debris Behind New York City Building

The company recovered more than 51, 000 American gold and silver coins and about 14, 000 other artifacts from the wreck site in the course of a meticulous archaeological excavation, Stemm said.

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