In addition to providing recommendations for the G20, the previous pages considered in outline how the illicit trade in cultural objects operates and the harms it causes. For a more in-depth understanding of the issues involved, it is necessary to examine the evidence of a single case study. It is regrettable to say, but because of the length of the ongoing conflict, Syria offers an informative example. There is plenty of evidence available and time now for retrospective analysis in drawing globally applicable lessons. While new digital technologies have enabled more active illicit trade, satellite imagery and on-the-ground photography have transformed methods of damage assessment. Technologies are nothing without people, and these new technologies have been supported by the continuing dedication of expatriate Syrians and the bravery of Syrians reporting from within conflict zones—sometimes putting their lives at risk while doing so. It is probably true to say that at the present time the looting and trade of cultural objects inside Syria is better described than for any other country in the world. There has been an active and damaging illicit trade in Syrian antiquities and other cultural objects since at least the 1980s, though before the onset of civil conflict in 2011 it did not attract very much international attention or action. Once fighting had broken out in 2011, archaeological sites, museums, and other cultural institutions became easy targets for looters and thieves. The damage caused since then is immense: •
A minimum of 40,635 objects have been recorded as missing from museums and other religious and cultural institutions.15
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A 2017 satellite-based survey of 2,641 Syrian archaeological sites showed that by then 355 had been damaged by looting. 16
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Of those 355 sites, 276 exhibited a minor amount of damage, 52 a moderate amount of damage, and 27 a severe amount of damage. 17
A 2017 satellite-based survey of 2,641 Syrian archaeological sites showed that by then 355 sites had been damaged by looting.
As the conflict has dragged on through 2021, the looting and illicit trade have continued, and damage estimates continue to mount. During the period 2012 to 2014, all combatant factions were reported to be facilitating or tolerating looting and illicit trade. Syrian Arab Republic Army officers were suspected to be profiting from the looting of the archaeological sites of Apamea and Palmyra. Satellite imagery of Apamea shows how between July 2011 and April 2012 its previously undisturbed surface became covered by looters’ pits.18 Further east on the Euphrates, while under the control of Free Syrian Army affiliates, the archaeological site of Dura Europos was transformed into an international marketplace. Hundreds of people were digging there and selling their finds to foreign dealers or their proxies who were waiting nearby in
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Syria: A Case Study
