The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

With hundreds of thousands of lives lost, millions of people displaced and some of the world’s most significant heritage sites destroyed, the wars in Iraq and Syria have had an enormous cost. While the historical artefacts that have been bombed, defaced and plundered can never be restored, they are very well remembered. Through local histories, legends and personal stories, the Museum of Lost Objects recreates these lost treasures and explores their significance across generations and cultures, from creation to destruction.

The winged bull was a huge 2,700-year-old sculpture that stood guard at the gates of one of the most fabled cities in antiquity – Nineveh, modern-day Mosul, northern Iraq. Militants from the Islamic State group defaced the winged bull in February 2015, almost a year after seizing control of the city. We tell the story of the bull and the role of Nineveh in the origins of Iraqi archaeology.

This episode was first broadcast on 29 February, 2016

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Picture: Winged Bull of Nineveh, drawn by Eugène Flandin

Contributors: Mazin Safar, son of Iraqi archaeologist Fuad Safar; Mark Altaweel, Institute of Archaeology, UCL; and Iraqi archaeologist Lamia al-Gailani, SOAS

With thanks to Nigel Tallis and Sarah Collins of the British Museum, and Augusta McMahon of the University of Cambridge.

It’s been a year since Brazil’s National Museum burned down in a fire. Not only was its collection one of the most extraordinary in the world, but Brazil’s entire history ran through the museum. On the second floor you could meet the prehistoric skeleton that was the ‘mother’ of all Brazilians; on the third, listen to Amazonian folklore about exploding jaguars; and downstairs, slide into the slippers of a slave king. Now, the only intact artefact on site is a huge iron rock from outer space – the Bendego meteorite.

With thanks to Roberta Fortuna

Contributors: Cahe Rodrigues, carnival director; Dom João, photographer and descendent of Brazil’s last emperor; Laurentino Gomes, journalist and author; Monica Lima, historian; Mariza Carvalho Soares, historian and museum curator; Aparecida Vilaça, anthropologist and author of Paletó and Me; Bernabau Tikuna, linguist; Tonico Benetiz, anthropologist; Murilo Bastos, bio-archaeologist; Luciana Carvalho, paleontologist and deputy director of rescue Museu Nacional; Sergio Azevedo, paleontologist and director of Museu Nacional’s 3D printing lab

Voice over performances by: Fernando Duarte, Marco Silva, Silvia Salek; Thomas Pappon

This edition of Museum of Lost Objects is broadcast on BBC World Service.

Rabindranath Tagore, the celebrated Bengali writer, is one of the greatest figures in modern South Asian history. In 1913, Tagore became the first non-westerner to win a Nobel Prize, but just over a decade ago, his Nobel medal was stolen – and still hasn’t been found. This episode looks at Tagore’s legacy, how his songs and poems are ubiquitous in Bengali life, how he inspired revolutionaries and reformers in South Asia, and how his suspicion of all nationalisms - even anti-colonial nationalism - makes his work feel thoroughly contemporary and relevant today.

Presented by Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Arunava Sinha; Rahul Tandon; and Saroj Mukherji

With thanks to Minu Tharoor; CS Mukherji; and Sudeshna Guha

Image: An unseen vendor picks up a cut out photo of Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore

Ziarat Residency was a former sanatorium in the hills of Balochistan, and it’s where Muhammad Ali Jinnah - the founder of Pakistan – spent the last three months of his life. The building acquired great significance after his death – it was even on the 100 rupee note, and was eventually turned into a museum. But just four years ago, Ziarat residency was fire-bombed and burnt to the ground by Balochi separatists.

Presented by Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Nayyar Ali Dada; Saher Baloch; Ayesha Jalal, Tufts University; Pasha Haroon;

With thanks to Fifi Haroon

Image: Rebuilt Ziarat Residency after 2013

In March 1739, the Persian warlord Nader Shah laid siege to Delhi. He destroyed and plundered the city. Among his ‘Delhi loot’ was the famous Jeweled or Peacock Throne of the Mughal Empire. It took seven years to make, and seven elephants to cart it away forever - and it's been lost ever since. This episode stretches back to stories of empire well before British rule, and looks at how narratives of conquest and loss still have a powerful hold over South Asians.

Presented by Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Yuthika Sharma, University of Edinburgh; and Manan Ahmed, Columbia University

With thanks to Sussan Babaie, Courtauld Institute of Art

Image: Persian ruler Nadir Shah on the Peacock Throne after his victory over the Mughals Credit: Alamy

The mystery of the 2,000 year old little bronze box, the Kanishka casket, that was said to hold the remains of the Buddha himself.

Presented by Kanishk Tharoor

Contributor: Vazira Fazila-Yacoubali Zamindar, Brown University

Picture: Replica of the Kanishka casket at the British Museum

Bonus pod! Amir Elahi, the great uncle of Columbia University historian Manan Ahmed, became rivals with his former Indian teammates when he left for Pakistan.

Image: Amir Elahi and Dattaram Hindlekar, members of the All-India cricket team, 1936

Kanishk Tharoor explores artefacts and landmarks caught up in India and Pakistan's independence in 1947. In this episode, the life and times of the Palladium cinema.

The Palladium was one of Srinagar’s oldest and most popular movie theatres. It was on Lal Chowk, a square in the heart of the city. From the 1940s, the building was the backdrop to many of Kashmir's major political events. Today it stands in ruins, an unexpected casualty of the ongoing conflict, and now, there are no public cinemas left in Srinagar.

Presented by Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Krishna Mishri; Imtiyaz; and Neerja Mattoo

With thanks to Andrew Whitehead

Museum of Lost Objects series two is broadcast on BBC World Service.

Image: Cadets during a National Conference rally at Lal Chowk, Srinagar 1944 Credit: India Picture

Seventy years ago, India and Pakistan became independent nations - but at a cost. People and lands were partitioned, and a once shared heritage was broken apart. Kanishk Tharoor explores the tussle for ancient history and the prized artefacts of the Indus Valley civilization. There was a bureaucratic saga over the fates of the priest-king, the dancing girl, and the jade necklace so precious to both India and Pakistan that neither country could let the other have it whole.

Presented by Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Maruf Khwaja; Saroj Mukherji; Vazira Fazila-Yacoubali Zamindar, Brown University; Sudeshna Guha, Shiv Nadar University

With thanks to Anwesha Sengupta, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata

Museum of Lost Objects series two is broadcast on BBC World Service.

Image: The Mohenjo Daro jade necklace that was cut in two. India's share on the left, Pakistan's share on the right. Credit: Archaeological Survey of India and Getty Images

Nimrud is a 3,000 year old archaeological site blown up by the so-called Islamic State. The Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Hossein spent 30 years excavating there, and he goes back for the first time to see what remains. And the story of one Iraqi family who grew up with the temples and talismans of the beautiful, fabled city of Hatra.

Including contributions from Layla Salih, Nineveh Heritage Buildings; Alessandra Peruzzetto, World Monuments Fund; and Watha Saleh.

Museum of Lost Objects series two is broadcast on BBC World Service.

Image: Gorgon head in Hatra Credit: Getty Images