The host of GRB 030323 at

We present photometry and spectroscopy of the afterglow of GRB 030323. VLT spectra of the afterglow show damped Lyα (DLA) absorption and low- and high-ionization lines at a redshift $z=3.3718\pm0.0005$. The inferred neutral hydrogen column density, $\log N({\ion{H}{i}})=21.90\pm0.07$, is larger than any (GRB- or QSO-) DLA $\ion{H}{i}$ column density inferred directly from Lyα in absorption. From the afterglow photometry, we derive a conservative upper limit to the host-galaxy extinction: $A_{\rm V}