A report issued by the German Gerda Henkel Foundation and the Syrian Society for the Protection of Antiquities in France - a report on the conditions of archaeological museums in Syria between 2011 and 2020 - was prepared by the Syrian academic Sheikmos Ali, and he documented the severe damages to the Syrian material heritage and the institutions and museums that are supposed to preserve This heritage.
The report indicated that there are 55 cultural institutions concerned with preserving and displaying the cultural heritage in Syria, including 49 museums with various specialties, a huge warehouse for preserving the artifacts, and 5 places of worship that contain archaeological and historical objects, while only 38 museums are circulated in Syria, which the researcher considers inaccurate .
Looted effects
The report monitors 29 museums and places of worship that have been subjected to various damages due to military and air and ground bombing operations, including the museums of Maarat al-Numan, Palmyra, and Raqqa, which have been severely damaged.
It also deals with the widespread looting of Syrian archaeological sites, noting that 40,635 artifacts have been stolen from museums, warehouses and places of worship since 2011.
The report emphasized that this number includes only the 29 institutions that were looted, while 10 museums and places of worship that were looted were not considered, but the number of items looted was not known.
This figure also does not include thousands of items not registered in lists and notebooks of 19 museums that have been subjected to looting and thefts, nor does it include tens of thousands of items that were looted from Syrian archaeological sites during random excavation operations since 2011, in areas such as Apamea, Dora Europeanos, Palmyra, Ebla And others.
The looted artifacts - whose number documented the report - did not include the looting of many artifacts, heritage and artwork that he said had been shipped in 405 boxes by former Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass (died in 2017 in Paris) to the UAE.
The French report stated that Tlass obtained the largest part of these pieces illegally, but - according to the report - he obtained an official approval issued by the Syrian Ministry of Culture, which included allowing them to be shipped to the Emirates.
Archeology sites
Since the Syrian museums do not have the necessary protections for their holdings and archives, they have been subject to vandalism, looting, bombing and destruction since March 15, 2011, according to the report.
In this climate in which security is lacking in many cities and towns, many museums have been robbed or looted, while others have been bombed, according to the report, which considered that the situation of Syrian museums was more dangerous than the Iraqi museums, whose cultural and historical riches were severely damaged.
Among the looted museums in Syria is the "Palmyra Museum", which was founded in 1961 and was hit by Russian or Syrian missile strikes in the midst of the confrontation with gunmen who seized it, and was partially destroyed. ISIS operatives subsequently destroyed a number of its contents, including mummies and statues.
The museum contained 12,000 artifacts, but the number and nature of the looted antiquities is not known at present, and despite the lack of information, the report states that 3450 artifacts were looted from the Palmyra Museum.
Northwest of Palmyra, the report examined the reality of the "Archaeological Museum" in Idlib, which included, upon its opening in 1987, important art collections extending to the pre-history and Ottoman period.
The museum was subjected to several missile attacks in 2015 and 2016, and many of its contents were partially looted or partially destroyed, especially the archive. This museum included 15,000 artifacts, of which 5,844 archaeological cats were looted, according to the report.
Museums and barracks
And to the south of Idlib, the report examined the reality of the Museum of Al-Numan Gallery, considering that it was the most famous in the country as it contains the most important collection of mosaics in the Near East, and is located in Khan Murad Pasha (which dates back to the 16th century) in Maarat al-Numan and in the middle there is a mosque and a hospice.
In 2011, this museum was converted into a military barrack by the Syrian regime army. Later, the Free Syrian Army took control of this building and the Ma’at al-Nu`man Martyrs Brigade settled in the museum, and between 2012 and 2018 the Ma`rat al-Nu`man Museum was subjected to massive damage after a series of aerial bombardments by the Syrian regime army.
The report also dealt with the "National Museum of Aleppo", which was established in 1931 and includes ancient local and other antiquities coming from the cities of Deir Al-Zour, Idlib, Latakia and Hasaka. The museum has been subject to a series of attacks and bombings since October 2012 and destroyed many of its facilities and contents dating back to the pre-era era. The birth of Christ, peace be upon him.
Other museums in the city of Aleppo, including the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions, the Museum of the Citadel of Aleppo, and the Museum of Medicine and Science in Aleppo (Al-Bimaristan Al-Urgawani) have been subjected to a series of looting in the wake of the attacks and bombings that occurred when the city was the scene of long confrontations between the Syrian regime forces and the Free Syrian Army and opposition Syrian organizations .
Recommendations
The report called on the Syrian General Department of Antiquities and Museums to make a detailed report on the current status of each museum and its contents, and to build a digital database so that each part is subject to a scientifically detailed inventory list according to the standards set by international museums.
In addition, the report called for a detailed research that includes all possible information to know the exact number of looted antiquities and ethnography in each museum, considering that such research will be crucial for Interpol and other international institutions to document stolen objects if they appear in art and smuggling antiquities.
The report called for an investigation into the transfer of hundreds of antique funds to Dubai by former Defense Minister Major General Mustafa Tlass when he left Syria in 2011, confirming that these funds contain thousands of looted artifacts that have been smuggled from its original homeland.