Colonel Bogdanos said that some Iraqis returned looted objects to him, rather than to the museum itself, which was identified with Mr. Hussein.

It is the first time that Italy has charged a museum official with involvement in the trade of looted objects.

In accord with Unesco, the British Museum also agreed to serve as a clearinghouse for international efforts to find looted objects and restore damaged ones.

The Getty's former antiquities curator, Marion True, remains on trial in Italy on charges of conspiring to acquire looted objects for the museum.

Hawass' blog said that archeological sites in Egypt were being safeguarded and that looted objects had been returned.

Italy pledged to contribute $1 million to help recover the looted objects.

A few years ago, public pressure prompted Austria to publish a list of looted objects, and in 1996 it auctioned off the unclaimed works for the benefit of Holocaust survivors.

The archaeologists, for their part, have accused the museums of being driven solely by the desire for acquisitions and for implicitly subsidizing the trade in looted objects.

One of the prime goals of the conference was to begin to establish a database of the missing art so police and customs officials could spot looted objects when they turned up.

The United States has offered amnesty to Iraqis who turn in looted objects from the museum and other archaeological collections.