The excavation that was done in modern-day Iran showed how the peoples of that region understood the antiquity of things. The rulers of old countries would become archaeological buffs and excavate the earlier rulers that ruled a thousand or fifteen hundred years before them.
The excavation of Susa in modern-day Iran in the 1800s and 1900s revealed how the peoples of the region understood the antiquity of their world, including stories of pre-Diluvian monarchs before the biblical flood.
The looting of god statues was a common practice in ancient times. In this particular instance, the Babylonians needed their god statue back before they could rebuild after it was sacked by invaders, and it was eventually taken as loot by the Elamites and used as a trophy of their victory.