They sprang from the cradle of civilization in a concentrated area of what is now warn-torn Iraq.

They spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus, were converted to Catholicism by St. Thomas and represented a tiny island of Christianity in a sea of Islam.

They arrived in Detroit in the early 1900s, drawn by Henry Ford's promise of $5 a day for workers in his auto factory. Today, about 100,000 Chaldeans -- Iraqi Catholics -- live in southeast Michigan in what is considered to be one of the largest concentrations outside the Middle East.

Now, the first museum dedicated to Chaldeans is being built in metro Detroit.

More than six years in the works, the Chaldean Community Cultural Center in West Bloomfield is a step closer to reality with the completion of the design. Planners now are considering companies and artisans to build the museum and replicate the artifacts that will fill it.

The 2,500-square-foot museum, scheduled to open in 2007, will represent the history of Chaldeans from ancient Mesopotamia to the present. It will include ancient artifacts, photos, writings, newspaper articles and other displays documenting their history.

From a vaguely conceived notion that the Chaldean community had a story to share to an actual museum has been a longer and more arduous task than anyone anticipated, according to Rosemary Antone, chairwoman of the museum board.

"We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into," said Antone, who came to Michigan from Iraq when she was a girl and today lives in Farmington Hills. "It's been a real eye-opening experience. We have learned so much good stuff about ourselves that we want to share." Museum planners had expected to fill the museum with actual artifacts from the archeologically rich homeland.

"We all had family and contacts over there. We thought it would be a breeze," Antone said.

That was before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

In the ensuing chaos, many artifacts have been destroyed or pilfered and museums closed.

Planners of the Chaldean center were advised it would be virtually impossible to obtain artifacts that hadn't been forged or stolen and sold on the black market.

Still, the museum will have some authentic items. Some will be loaned from the Detroit Institute of Arts and some from the personal collection of Elsie Peck, an archaeologist who curated the DIA's Mesopotamia exhibit. The items include pottery.

Peck connected museum officials with a dealer in London who is supplying the center with some other original artifacts as well.

Right now, anyone who visits the museum site can see replicas of artifacts that were created by local Chaldean artists. Among them is a miniature of the Ishtar Gate, which served as the entrance to ancient Babylonia.

Martin Manna, director of the Chaldean Chamber of Commerce, has spearheaded the fund-raising for the nonprofit cultural center. He estimates the group still needs to raise about $1 million of a $5.5-million campaign. He's an owner of Interlink Media in Farmington Hills, the marketing-public relations firm that publishes the Chaldean News.

The money raised so far includes $2.5 million in in-kind contributions from the Shenandoah Country Club, which is owned by the Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan.

The museum will be housed in the country club, which has contributed about 14,000 square feet of space. .

The museum also landed $400,000 in grants from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services to construct exhibits and a $300,000 grant from the state for the design and construction of exhibits. There also have been corporate sponsorships from DTE Energy, Comcast, Comerica and Dean Foods.

Antone said the cultural center's mission is threefold: "We want to pay tribute to pioneers. We want to teach our children. And we want to educate the public at large so Chaldeans can maintain their own, separate identity."

By Kim Norris
Detroit Free Press