syriepillage by mlfcham mlfcham

‫ﳉﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺴﻮﺭﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﳉ‬

République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

‫ﻭﺯﺍﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﺜﻘﻘﺎﻓﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﳌﺪﻳﺮﺮﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻣﺔ ﻟﻶﺛﺎﺎﺭ ﻭ ﺍﳌﺘﺎﺣﻒ‬ ………… ……………:‫ﺍﻟﺮﻗﻢ‬ ‫ﺦ‬ .………………… :‫ﺍﻟﺘﺎﺭﻳﺦ‬

Updaating th he reporrt on thee statuss of Syriian antiiquities and theeir proteection measure m es (ssince th he begin nning off the criisis untiil June 115, 20133)

The painful p evvents takking placee in Syriaa all thro ough the current crisis have reflectedd negatively on th he Syrian n culturaal heritagge; that some h been n subjectted to accts of archaeeological sites in conflict zones have vandaalism and plunder.. In addittion, operrations of smuggliing antiqquities and artifacts a a well as as a acts of o antiquiities forggery havee been active a recenttly. As well, w som me historiic buildin ngs were damagedd in diffferent govern norates . In ressponse, th he DGA AM has been makking relen ntless effo orts to reeduce the impact of o the current crisis on o the antiquitie a es and sites. a a lot o of successs in Furthermore, it has, in actuaal fact, achieved S m museums n nationwid de and seecuring ttheir hold dings; proteccting all Syrian reclaim ming parrt of the stolen arrtifacts byy means of bordeer seizerss and most importaantly brin nging ab bout positive reesults as regardss the o to o cooperration wiith the local protecction off several sites owing comm munity.

Rue Qasr el-Heir

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‫ﺷﺎﺭﻉ ﻗﺼﺮ ﺍﳊﲑ ﺍﻟﺸﺮﻗﻲ‬ ‫ﺩﻣﺸﻖ – ﺳﺳﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬ (١١-٩٦٣) ٢٢٤٧٩٩٨٣ :‫ ﻓﺎﻛﺲ‬،٢٢١٩٩٣٨/٢٢٥٤٨١١ :‫ﻫﺎﺗﻒ‬

‫ﳉﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺴﻮﺭﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﳉ‬

République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

The following f is an up p-to-date version of o the rep port, doccumentin ng the damagge and violations at the diffferent Syrian m museums and archaeeological sites sin nce the beginning b g of the crisis un ntil the 15 1 thof June, 2013, which w wass prepareed relying on rep ports andd inform mation ned from m the DG GAM through dep partmentts of antiiquities in n the obtain differeent goverrnorates:

A Assessing g the Staatus Quo o he Syrian museum ms a. Th All museums m were em mptied off antiquitties whicch were wrapped d and transfferred to safe plaaces; addditional irron gatess were in nstalled to t all museuums, andd all the importan nt historiic docum ments andd manusccripts were transferrred to sp pecial an nd securee storeho ouses to be protected a hum midity. Generally G S againsst theft, arson and speakingg, the Syrian museuums are all in go ood conddition seet aside some s damages to o the follow wing: Thefts were w limitted to tw wo historiic pieces:: one of them is a gilt bronze statue, s daating bacck to thee Aramaiic periodd, from Hama H Museum m, and thee other iss a piece of marblle stone ffrom Apamea Museum m. The DG GAM, in cooperati c ion with the Department of Antiqquities of Raqqaa and thee staff in n charge of the Museum M o of Raqqaa, has Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

confirmeed that an ntiquitiess of the museum m are intact and in good condition n, and th hat the most siggnificant antiquitiees have been transferred to a safe placce. In ad ddition, all a museuum halls have mptied, an nd the anttiquities are a kept in fortified and seecure been em warehouuses. The storrehouse of Herggla archaeeological buildingg, Raqqa, has been sub bjected to t a series of vio olations by somee armed men specializeed in antiquities theft. However, the storeehouse iss still protectedd thanks to the efforts off the guarrds of the site and d the employeees of thee Directo orate of Antiquitties in adddition to o the local com mmunity in the suurroundin ng region n who aree assistin ng the guards an nd the em mployees.. So, in orrder to en nsure thee safety and protection of the objeccts in the storeehouse, th he workeers of Raqqa Department of Antiqquities emptied out the storehouuse and trransferredd its objeects to a safer d gotten the perm mission of o the place havving coordinated with and central addministraation of the t DGA AM in Dam mascus to o do thatt. the Alep ppo Museeum of Folk F Traaditions has h been n subjecteed to theft seeeing that thieves took t advvantage of o the facct that guuards were nott present due to violent v claashes in the regio on. Hencee, the thieves made m usee of one of the ho ouses adjjacent to the musseum, made a hole h in one o of itts walls, sneaked s m and into the museum managedd to steal some traaditional pieces off art such h as glassw ware, Baghdaddi daggerss, six speaars and so ome garm ments. Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

The Naational Museum M of Alep ppo alon ng with Deir ezz-Zor Museum m suffered from losses such s as window ws and doors d smashingg due to bombing b gs in neigh hboring areas. a Departm ment of Antiquities A s in Maarrrat al-Nuu'man con nfirms th hat all Maarrat Museum m halls aree sound and a intacct, and itss holdinggs are owever, the t buildding wass subjectted to so ome dam mages safe. Ho caused by b clashess nearby. Media reeports haave been ddiscussin ng the loss of potteries p me otherr antiquitties, whicch canno ot be and som confirmeed withouut conduucting a full f inven ntory, beaaring in mind that the Departm D ment of Antiquities A s in Maarrrat is mo ore inclin ned to disagree with the news. Taibat all-Imam Museum, M Hama, has recenttly suffereed from some and do damages to its windows w oors. Nonethelesss, the mosaic m panel is in i good condition c n. Homs aandDeir ez-Zor were Folk artt museum ms in Aleppo, A subjectedd to mino or damagges. Howeever, all archeologgical piecces of art were transferred to a saafe place.. Seventeeen pieces of potterry as welll as somee clay dollls were stolen s from thee exhibitio on hall in n Jaabar Castle. C o Doura Europoss Museum m were sttolen (rep plicas The colleections of not origiinals). Moreover, M the secuurity roo om in adddition to o the tickets offfice weree sabotagged.

Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

b. Th he archaeeologicall buildin ngs and sites s

1st- Clashes C the Direectorate of Antiqquities of o Aleppo has confirmed d the destructiion of th he minarret of the Great Umayyad Mosquue of Aleppo, one of the mostt importaant archaaeologicaal mosquues in Syria. Th he minareet is considered on ne of the most am mazing Isllamic minarets in the olld city off Aleppo inscribedd under tthe UNE ESCO H L Neveertheless,, the DG List. GAM has not been n able World Heritage to obtain n more details d orr inform mation in this resp pect dow wn to difficultyy in accesssing andd inspectiing the place. p Furrthermorre, an armed grroup disaassembledd the woo oden min nbar (a raiised platfform) of Umayyyad Mossque in Aleppo A an nd claimeed to be transferriing it to anoth her safe place p eveen thouggh that happened h d withoutt any prior kn nowledge of the archaeollogical auuthoritiess involveed in protectin ng the culltural herritage in Aleppo. A ops as weell as Due to clashes, hundreds of histtoric antiique sho nd new wooden w d doors werre burnedd down iin old Alleppo goods an souks suuch as Al-zerb, Al-Obb bi, Al-Attme, Al-A Attareen,, AlNiswan, Al-Sooff, Al-Sagh ha. ome new ws agenccies havee shown that Pictures publisheed by so Bimaristaan Arghun, Alep ppo, (also o known n as thee Museum m of Medicinee and Science) sufffered fro om some damagess – which h was confirmeed by the Dirrectorate of An ntiquities in Aleeppo. Nevertheeless, it seems s im mpossiblee to deteermine th he naturee and Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

extent off the dam mage duee to difficculty in accessing a the placce for the time being. Some buuildings in n Old Aleppo A weere damaaged as a result of o the clashes. he entran nce to Some castles (Maadiq Castlle, Krak des Chevvaliers, th the Citaddel of Aleppo A an nd its no orthern tower, t Sh hayzar Castle, C Rahba Castle) C h have un ndergone minor damagees in ceertain positionss. Zennar Church in n addition n to otheer church hes and some Um al-Z old soukks in Hom ms were damaged d due d to claashes. Al-Omarri Mosquue, Daraa,, was sub bjected to o damagee as a resuult of shells afffecting itss sahn (i.ee. courtyaard), min naret and surround dings, according to a reeport by the Darraa Depaartment o of Antiquities nspectingg the clarifyingg the diifficulty in docuumentingg and in damage directly d d to thee current situation due n. Historic Hrak Mosque M in n Izraa suffered from daamages in i its western wall, northern wall w and part of its roof. As welll, the minarets of both h the old mosquee in the city c of Sh heik Messkeen and the old o mosqque in thee town off Mahajjaa were dam maged. Those T two latter mosqques are registereed as trraditionall non-hisstoric buildingss. Mabrak el-Naqa buildingg and Nymph N T Temple (also publicly known as a King’’s Daugh hter’s Beed) in B Bosra weere dam maged. Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

Furtherm more, thee only reemaining lintel ab bove the columnss was damagedd as well as a some old o housees in Bosrra. Some olld housees in th he town of Naw wa were subjecteed to destructiion becauuse of clashes. i Palmyyra are taking placce in orch hards ouutside thee city. Clashes in The dam mage wass minor, specificaally, the inner i walll of the west façade off the Tem mple of Bel. B

uction violations 2nd- Constru v m and looting Unlikee practicces such as secreet excavaations, vandalism which h receive high resisstance an nd are fouught again nst by th he local peeople of thee areas suurroundin ng the arrchaeologgical sitess, the local comm munity does not n show w the sam me degree of coo operation with reggard to recent constrruction violations v s that aree prevaleent as so ome peop ple are taaking advan ntage of the t state of chao os and duue to diffficulties in contro olling these violation ns taking place p around the archaeolo a ogical sitees.

haeologiical sitess 3rd- Excavatting and vandalizzing arch a the far--off archeeological sites, Antiquities thieeves havee becomee active at he difficuulty in en nsuring protection n and thee few takingg advantaage of th

Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

numb ber of guaards. The followin ngs are the most seerious vio olations:

1- Hassaka: The Hassaka Direectorate of Antiqquities po ointed ouut in a reeport that the archeolo ogical sitees north of o the go overnoratte have so s far ondition as no illegal i exxcavations took place, p been in good co portant sites s where Syrian n and forreign missions especiallyy the imp have beeen conduccting exp plorationss for yearrs. Those sites are (Tell Mozan, Tell Leilan, Telll Beydar,, and Teell Arbeeed), and they s off the most signifiicant anccient kinggdoms in n the include some region. The T directtorate alsso asserteed that Hamokar H aarchaeolo ogical site is fine; however, nearby hills suffered from secret s ons. As for f (Tell Berry, Tell T Brak,, and Telll Halaf), they excavatio have nott been sub bjected to o attacks or sabotaage. The repo ort show wed that the t absen nce of vaandalism m acts at these importan nt sites iss the resuult of thee cooperaation of tthe localss and popular protectio p on units in n the areaa. There arre no sp pecific details d orr inform mation ass regardss the archaeolo ogical siites souuth of the t govvernorate seeing that archaeolo ogists andd guards cannot access a thee area. However, some residentss of the southern n region have rep ported n noticing illegal i excavatio on at som me archaeeological sites likee Tell Ajaaja. Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

2- Raqqa: R The Direectorate of o Antiquuities in Raqqa R inddicated in n a reportt that J Jaabar C Castel is safe but closed for f the time t bein ng due to o the presencee of gunm men in thee area and d the neigghboringg villages. Some arrchaeologgical sitess in Raqqqa have been suuffering from illegal exxcavation n, on wh hich the DGAM D has not been ab ble to obtain an ny detailled inform mation since s the guards ccannot access a the placee down to the violent v cllashes. Thus, T thee DGAM M has relied on n informaation receeived fro om some memberrs of the local commun nity in thee region regarding r g the situaation at th hese sitess.

3- Deiir ez-Zor: Both Maari and Doura Eurropos sitees are sub bject to systematicc acts of lootin ng, vandaalism andd destrucction viollating theeir sanctity by means of o fierce and secrret excavvations ussing heavvy machiinery. Moreoveer, accordding to reports r reeceived from f Deeir ez-Zorr last April, th he numbeer of pitts resultin ng from illegal eexcavation ns in search of o archaaeologicall finds at Dourra Europos sitee has amounteed to 3000 differen nt-sized pits p all ovver the sitte, particuularly Bait Lysiias, the markets, m t bathss and thee synagoggue as well the w as the arch haeological buildiings with hin the site. W What is more, m unconfirmed infformation n receivved by the dep partment has o a whitte stone statue s of a two-wiinged referred to the diiscovery of hild.In adddition, the t numb ber of pitts at Marri site lady carrrying a ch Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

has totaled aboutt 50 sincee April. Illlegal exccavations have foccused R Paalace, thee southerrn gate, the bath hs, Temp ple of on the Royal Ishtar, Temple T o Dagan of n and th he Templle of thee Goddess of Spring. Besides, B t accom the mmodatio ons of the expedittion as well w as the visito ors’ centeer have been b burggled, andd some viiolations have taken plaace at al-SSayal site.. Tell Sheiikh Hamad site, Deir D ez-Z Zor, has been b subjject to bllatant and illeggal excavaations. In n addition n, the acccommoddations of o the mission working w at the sitte have been burggled. Also o dignitariies in the villagge have interveneed to puut an endd to the digs and d the resultingg damage. Illegal exxcavation ns have afffected Tell T es-Sin n site, and the number of pits has h exceeeded 2800 pits leaading to uncoverring a Ro oman burial ch hamber containin ng five whole skulls an nd skeleetons. Consequuently, th he Deparrtment of o Antiquuities of Deir ezz-Zor asked thee guard at a the site to close this buriaal chamb ber. Halbia siite witnessed blattant excavvations using u heaavy mach hinery in the arrea of th he north tower cemeteriess adjacen nt to al-H Harbi Bridge, to t the eaast alongg the Eup phrates River R andd next to o the basilica located l in n the miiddle of the site to the w west alongg the basalt pllateau. The T thievves stole the pro otective doors off the entrances to the gates g of the toweers and th he entran nces to Halbia H ogical sitte, Deir ez-Zor. Furtherrmore, th he excavvation archaeolo tools of the Syriaan-French h archaeo ological mission m w working at a the a one of o the Directorate D e of Touurism site weree stolen as well as caravans servicin ng at thee site. In n additio on, illegaal excavaations Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

stopped long ago o since they werre in vaiin accordding to those t conductiing them.. There are a 70 1-to-4-me 1 eter-deep holes resulting from illegal i excavatio ons at al-B Busayrah h site. Excavations usin ng heavy machineery at al--Marwanyyia hills, state propertyy and al-M Masayeh stopped s a month ago. a Some peeople fro om the city c of Ashara A viiolated a part off Tell Ashara/T Terqa wh hich was settled next to the bridge with 7 meters m deep andd 15 meteers long.

4- Idlib: o Ebla: E Illegall digging operatio ons becam me activee at Eblaa archeollogical site by the en nd of Deecember 2012 2 afteer a drop p in such h activities at an earlier e time according a g to reporrts by thee Directorate of Antiquities A s in Idlib. The reportts also showed that t the illegal exxploration ns that E Ebla sufffered from for montths are reeceding due d to th he nature of the siite on thee one ot easy to o detect th he placess of treasuures, andd thanks to t the hand as it is no t villaggers that put an end e to th hose acts on the other o endeaavors of the hand. mation on n the Idlib Directoraate of Antiquitiess provideed detaileed inform o antiquities thievves in Eb bla, which h caused a lot of ddamage to the acts of modern facilitiies of thee site succh as the cafeteria at the en ntrance to the Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

northeern hill and a the newly co onstructeed buildin ng south hwest thee site, which h was sup pposed to o be a cen nter to recceive visiitors, in aaddition to t the service room and a its faccilities. mages at the histo oric site and a its rellics, they,, for the most As forr the dam part, were w caussed by weather co onditions in winteer which aaffected some walls, annuallyy restoredd by the archaeollogical mission m w working at a the site. m damages caused by somee people who As weell, the siite sufferred from focuseed their attention a on the fo ollowing sectors: -TheA Acropolis:R Random holes h sprread all ovver the courtyardss of the Royal R Palacee (G) esp pecially around a th he archivve room. Thieves attempteed to enter by mean ns of diggging holees below w some walls w in o order to reach r ot exploreed yet. Moreover, they parttly destro oyed the basalt b older levels no s of the t palace with th he purpose of staircaase in thee administrative suite penetrrating thee layers; a numbeer of wellls were searched s again deespite being previoussly excavaated by th he expediition therre. More historic levels l E). Besiddes, somee insignifficant were sabotaged in partts of the Palace (E ngs took place p at the top off the Acropolis. diggin -The Northerrn Palacee (P) an nd the Great G Teemple off Ishtar were d op perationss in somee halls, but b that p posed no o real subjeccted to digging threatt. Also, some wellls were searched s again deespite beiing previiously excavaated. -The Southern n Palace (FF), lo ocated in n the slo ope of th he Acrop polis, Rue Qasr el-Heir

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

sufferred from vandalism and minor m digggings wh hich did n not affecct the buildin ng and caan be rep paired lateer. -The perpetrat p tors excavvated sevveral secttors in th he Temple of the Rock (HH) which was w a signiificant temple in Ebla E duriing the an ncient Brronze ( midddle of th he 3rd milllennium BC). On nly one hole wass dug Age (the there, and one well wass searchedd. R Pallace (Q) in i additio on to the fences, gates g andd other seectors -The Royal of thee historic hill weree not subjjected to any damaage. o The T dead d cities: Kafr Oqqab site of o Gebell al-Woasstani: it has h been n subjecteed to destructiion and damagee by an ntiquitiess thievess. Moreeover, informattion has confirme c d that Kafr K Oqab b is the m most dam maged and mosst affecteed site in the regiion in that large aand deep p pits spread all a over the placce. Somee of thesse pits ccontain virgin v cemeteries which have beeen looted d and desttroyed; in n addition n, the n tower has h been n knockeed down and thee nave of the southern church has h sufferred from secret diggs and daamage. Banassraa site of Gebel G al--Woastan ni: a largee numberr of pits have spread alll over th he site; a 2 x 2m m and a depth d of 90cm piit has been seeen in the Martirio (martyrd dom) Chaamber in n the nortthern church and a a simiilar one in i the souuthern ch hurch. Beesides, dam mage to the so outhern ch hurch has caused all the stone colum mns to to opple down an nd some parts of mosaic floors f to appear. In additiion, a Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

large sarccophaguss east of the t churcch has been destro oyed. Qalb Lo ozeh of Gebel G all-Aala: th he church h is com mpletely intact i apart fro om breakiing four stones s off the apsee. In addiition, a caarved stone in an embo ossed andd distorted d human shape haas been found f at the weest end off the chuurch. Qarqabizza site off Gebel all-Aala: a number of archaeeological walls have beeen damagged; moreeover, thee eastern wall of a house eaast of the churrch has been deestroyed and sevveral diggs have been spotted. Kfeire siite of Geebel al-Aaala: excavvation pitts have sp pread all over the placee; the mo ost dangeerous of which w haas been in n the Maartirio Chamberr of the church. Furtherm F more, a sm mall burial ground d has been discovered in the bo ottom as a result of breakking the stone s slabs. ent of An Idlib Departm D ntiquities has decllared thatt the natuure and pllaces of exccavations suggest that t the thieves t haave contaacted antiiquities an nd excavaation exp perts seein ng that th he digs arre taking place in aan orderlly fashio on focuseed, in gen neral, on specific s places p insiide the ch hurches and a underrneath and aroundd sarcoph hagi search hing for treasures t and archaeeological finds. Fuurthermo ore, inform mation ob btained ffrom the local l comm munity has confirm med that a lot of an ntique deealers andd smuggleers, Syrian ns and no on-Syrianss, Turkish h in partiicular, aree in the reegion.

1Rue Qasr el-Heir

Gebel az-Zawiyya Park//al-Bara, which in ncludes ((al-Bara, Wadi W E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

Martah hun, Maagelya, Batirsa, Bshilla, Baouddeh, Serrgella, DeLozzeh, Shan nshrah, and a Rabeeea), sufffered fro om violaations and van ndalism in i some parts: p

Al-Baara site: - Threee stone sarcophaagi inside the pyraamid tom mb were b broken ass well as a gaate lintel and the door d of an a olive oil o mill. Moreover M r, four hisstoric crown ns were sttolen. - Som me local people are a livingg in arouund 15 caves c andd refurbishing some others in n addition n to rock engraved d Byzantiine tombs. me front parts p at the t site were w tarniished duee to clash hes. Thesse are - Som the frront partts of Abi Sufyan Castel, the pyraamidal buurial chamber (know wn as Saw wmaa), th he eastern n façade of o one off the five churchess, the pyram midal buriial chamb ber (know wn as Maazuqa) no orth and ssouth, an nd the easterrn façade of the Monastery M y.

Sergeella site: - Sign n boards were w broken as well w as theesarcophaagus at th he entran nce of Sergellla site. - Som me villagers from Kafr K Rom ma dwell in aboutt 10 histo oric housses in Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

Sergellla. - The doors, windows, w , and sw witches off the entrrance to the site were over, the office, th he electriccity room m and thee tickets office o broken. Moreo b in nto. were broken Wadi Martaahun, Magelya, M Batirsa, Bshiilla, Baaoudeh, and ozeh sitees: DeLo Some people have liveed and refurbishe r ed 7 cavves; in adddition, secret s ok place in n scattereed spots. excavaation too 2-

Gebel al-Zawyyia/al-Maara Parkk, which includess (Jeradee and e n, and reecent buiilding Ruwihaa), sufferred from secret excavation violatio ons reach hed Jeradda site; so ome façaddes in Jerrade site were tarnish hed. Furth hermore, the head dquarters and hom mes of fo oreign expedittions werre burgledd in Idlib b.

5- Alep eppo: Al-Deidaariya cavve in Mount M Sim meon suuffered ffrom actts of sabotagee, which included i the excaavation arrea and aarchaeolo ogical sectors previousl p ly explorred by th he missiion workking therre; in addition,, the equuipment of excavvations, wooden w columnss and boards were w looteed. Some arcchaeologiical sites in the reggions surrroundingg Aleppo have Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

been sub bject to daamage th hat cannot be iden ntified duee to escallating violence.. Noneth heless, acccording to t reportts, Simeo on Citadel and the archaaeologicaal sites in nscribed on o the World W Herritage Lisst are in good condition c n.

6- Ham ma: Apamea site rankks as onee of the most afffected sittes due to o the ongoing secret diigging op perations in the eaast, north heast and west c A comparis c son betw ween two o photoss of Apamea of the city. archaeolo ogical site taken by b satellitte (the firrst of wh hich was taken t on July 20th, 20011, whilee the seccond was taken on Aprill 4th, hows the amount of lootin ng and destruction n the sitee was 2012), sh subject to o due to secret exxcavation.. nes were stolen fro om al-An ndrine hisstoric A lot of construcction ston site.

ms: 7- Hom The Dep partment of Antiqquities of Palmyra has indiccated thaat due to violeent clash hes in the t orch hards off Palmyrra oasis,, the archaeolo ogical areea is not accessiblle as welll as the gguest houuse in the Temp ple of Beel and thee storehouuse located betweeen the teemple and the Triumph hal Arch h which houses a custoddian centter in Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

addition to otheer storeho ouses uttilized byy the dep partmentt and k theirr equipm ment and some some arcchaeologiical missiions to keep scientificc sampless that are not museeum piecces. there iss no in nformatio on on the daamage aaffecting the archaeolo ogical sitees and hiills in Haawdhit al--Kom. In n addition n, the departmeent can nnot excclude th he accom mmodatiions of the archaeolo ogical miissions fro om beingg burgledd or destro oyed. Tell al-N Nabi Maando hass been subject to t variouus violattions; however, there no n details regardin ng the illeegal digs or the extent e c in n the regio on. of the daamage cauused by clashes

8- Dam mascus andd its counttryside: Al-Suhl site, s Yabrroud, hass been suubjected to t illegal digs by some antiquitiees thievess in the surroundi s ing area, who aree collaborrating with Syriian and Lebanese L antiques dealers. The acco ommodation of the t Syrian n national missio on workin ng at archaeolo ogical Teell Saka siite was buurgled. Khan Attna was burgled. b

9- Darraa: another episode e o the serries of fieerce excaavation reepeats itsself at of Tell al-A Ash'ari in Daraa; D diigs are takking place up the hill aroun nd its eastern and a south hwestern sides. Allso the number n o of pits excceeds Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

10 ones reaching r a depth of 3 meters and a diameteer of 5 meters, which might m causse great damage d laater if these operattions con ntinue at this paace. The culltural sceene in Lajat L sitte, an open-air o museum m for Safaiticin nscription ns, was diistorted. nd limiteed excavvation wo orks are taking p place in other o Secret an places. For F exam mple, a rep port by the t deparrtment h has added d that there weere secrett digs at Kafr K Shaams site (Kherbit ( al-Muleh ha) in addition to Mzerrib archaaeologicall citadel. Some h historic sttones moved frrom the entrancee to the western staircasee and were rem around th he citadeel by anon nymous in ndividualls, as welll.

T andd Sweida: 10- Laattakia, Tartus, Theree are no damages d a according g to reporrts from those citiies.

11- Quuneitra: Theree were no o damagees there eexcept fo or some construct c tion violaations at al-Rafid sitte which h were dealt d witth togeth her with h some other o constrruction violations. v .

Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

The DGAM D th hrough this t reporrt seeks to t providde an acccurate acccount of th he archaeeological and hisstoric sittes whicch were subjecteed to damagges durin ng the currrent crisiis. Neverrtheless, we w wouldd like to assert a that other o sitees mightt have suffered s from daamages th hat weree not docum mented by b the anttiquities departme d ents of th he govern norates due to violen nt clashes in their surrounddings.

gery phen nomenon n 4th- Antiquiities forg By waay of exaamining samples from some conffiscations, it is evvident that arrtifacts fo orgery haas been active lateely as antiiquities th hieves ten nd to forge pieces off art and sell them m as genuuine ones such as m mosaic panels p P sttatues. Antiques forgery f haas been around a fo or years and a it and Palmyra is pun nishable by b the law w.

Proteection procedures

Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

- Preccautionaary measures Alll archaeollogical an nd historiic pieces of art weere amassed in safe fe and seccure placees, and burglar b allarms weere installled in so ome museums andd fortressses. In adddition, th he numbeer of guarrds was in ncreased.. Th he Interpol was in nformed about the t missiing piecees and alll the widdespread mobile phone p piictures beelieved to o be of SSyrian hisstoric unddiscovereed and un nregistereed treasurres thievees dug up p illegally. Co ooperation n with internatio i onal orgaanizationss for thee purposse of excchanging ideas an nd visionss regardin ng the cuurrent sittuation of o the Syrrian cultuural heritaage has been b achieved. Mo oreover, IICOMOSS has orgganized an a e-learn ning courrse aimingg at enhaancing th he skills of o the Syrrian natio onal caddres in “Ways “ an nd Techn niques ffor Proteecting Cuultural Heeritage in n Times of Confflict” with h the paarticipatio on of inteernationaal expertss from IC COMOS and a ICCR ROM. Th he Ministrry of Cultture/DG GAM and d the speccialized auuthoritiess (the arm my, riot forces, f police, cusstoms, go overnoraate, muniicipalities, etc) havve taken several measures m to proteect the hiistoric sittes. Than nks to thiss cooperation, stolen antiquees weree return ned thrrough con nfiscation ns in Dam mascus, Tartus, T Palmyra, Homs, H H Hama, Deiir ezZo or, etc. The numb ber of th he confisccated item ms amouunted to 4000 inccluding beads, coiins, statuues and mosaic m paanels, tho ough som me of theem were fake. f Co ooperatingg with th he Lebanese archaaeologicaal authorities as well w as Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

inteernationaal organiizations such s as the INT TERPOL L in the fight agaainst traafficking in Syriian antiquities has h resuulted in the con nfiscation n of 18 Syrian S m mosaic paanels on the Lebaanese bo orders andd 73 Syyrian anttiquities smuggleed to Lebanon, L which were displayed fo or sale byy antiques dealers. Moreovver, the B British Suunday mes has participated in sh hedding light l on the issuee by repo orting Tim thaat to the INTER RPOL, wh hich in turn t has providedd the DG GAM witth all th he detaileed data and ph hotograph hs, which h have been exaamined by b the DGAM''s expertts to reeveal an nd verifyy the gen nuinenesss of tho ose antiqquities. Furtherm more, thee DGAM M is wo orking wiith the Lebanese L ological authoritie a s in order to archaeo retuurn thesse piecess officiaally to their t couuntry off origin after com mpleting the necessary pro ocedures. Co ompletingg the Em mergencyy Red Liist on Syrian S cuultural ob bjects wh hich is ussed as a guiding tool con ntributingg to sheddding ligh ht on sam mples off the Syyrian culttural herritage rep presentin ng the Syrian S culltural identity in order to facilitatee the ideentificatio on process of Syrrian antiqquities in addition n to theirr protectiion and tthe restitution of the stolen n ones. Parrticipatingg in thee internattional wo orkshop, held in Amman n, on "Reegional trraining on n Syrian cultural heritage: h a addressin ng the issue of illiccit trafficcking", in nitiated byy UNESCO and contribuuted to by the Sw wiss goveernment with th he particiipation of repreesentativees of herritage deepartmen nts from m neighb boring countries, c , the World W Cuustoms an nd the In nternation nal Policee. The workshop w has com me up witth numerrous reco ommendations suuch as seetting an n internattional Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

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République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

plaan by alll parties to workk with th he DGA AM on ddefendingg and saffeguardingg the Syyrian culttural heriitage in addition a to givingg top priority to the com mpletion of o the Emergenc E cy Red L List on Syrian S culltural objeects whicch will bee developed by ICOM. Orrganizing a worksh hop on (capacity( -building and awaareness-raaising on the figh ht against illicit traafficking of culturral propeerty), Mayy 12or the purpose of enrichingg the issuue of Syriian antiqquities 13,, 2013, fo sm muggled illlegally in terms off their culltural andd historical significcance to Syria, discussing the effecctiveness of the local l andd internattional ws and regulationss and higghlightingg the rolee of the sstate in raaising law inteellectual and cogn nitive awaareness between th he segmeents of so ociety as regardss the national n antiquities andd heritaage. Bessides, presentatiives of all a minisstries and d authorrities invvolved in n the rep pro otection of the Syrian S cuultural heeritage ass well as members of NG GOs andd local co ommunityy, researchers, arrtists andd writers were am mongst thee particip pants. Infforming the t UNE ESCO off the dam mage thee Syrian aarchaeolo ogical sitees have been b subject to an nd callingg upon th he organizzation to urge thee neighbo oring co ountries to t prohib bit illicitt trafficki king in Syrian S culltural pro operty.

Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

‫ﳉﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺴﻮﺭﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﳉ‬

République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

- Lau unching a nation nal camp paign to involve the t locall commu unity in pro otecting Syrian antiquitie a es: Within n the fraameworkk of the campaiggn of thee Ministrry of Cuulture "Syriaa – my ho omeland"", the DG GAM hass launcheed a natio onal camp paign targetiing 23 million m Syyrians to engage them all in proteecting an ncient Syrian n antiquitties and cultural c heeritage, which w theey take prride in, aggainst theft, vandalism and distortion d n as it is everyon ne's respo onsibility,, and ork together to prrotect tho ose antiquuities. they should wo n c campaign started its i activitiies on 155-10-20122 by meaans of The national puttin ng up road advertiisements in all Syrrian citiess and govvernorates and showiing films on national teleevisions encourag e ging Syriaans to deefend their Syrian S culltural identity. As forr interacttion with the locall commuunity, worrkers in aall directo orates of antiquities are collaaboratingg on pro otecting Syrian S an ntiquities with p o opinion leeaders an nd intelleectual, cuultural volunteers, intterested people, o create a feelingg in everry Syrian n that and religious elites in order to damagging antiiquities is an asssault agaiinst theirr civilizaation, nattional identitty and history.

The key k issue ue for thee DGAM M is to play p its role ro in pr protecting g the Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983

‫ﳉﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺴﻮﺭﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﳉ‬

République Arrabe Syrien nne M Ministère dee la Culturee Diirection Générale dess An ntiquités et des Muséees

Syrian n culturral herita tage and d all its compon onents seeeing th hat it belon ngs to allll Syrianss regardlless of th heir polit itical view ws, whicch do not concern c n the DGAM D at all since the th battl tle is about a safeg guarding g the histtory and heritagee of a nattion. Thus, s, the DGAM DG ha been has n seeking g to uniify the vvisions of o all Syrian ns conce cerning the t antiq iquities so s as too defend d and pro rotect them m given that the hey repreesent th he thing g which h has alw lways ght ourr peoplee togeth her. Thaanks to that, th the DGA AM's broug perfor ormance has beeen profes essional, scientifi fic and eeffective,, and its caadres havve remain ined unitted in allll governoorates.

The Generral Direector of o Antiq quitiess and M Museum ms M oun Ab bdulkarrim Proff. Dr. Maamo

Rue Qasr el-Heir

E-maiil: dgam@dg gam.gov.sy

Dam mas, SYRIE Tel:: 2219938/22554811, Télécoopie: (963-11)2247983