Three statues in Sweida provide an important picture of the archaeological heritage in southern Syria

Three statues were found in a field to the north of the town of Al-Kufr in the southern countryside of Sweida, and placed in the National Museum in Damascus.

These statues form part of the archaeological heritage in southern Syria and provide an image of the prestigious status during the Roman era.

The Head of the Sweida Antiquities Department, Dr. Nashat Kiwan, stated that the three statues  date back to the period of the Roman Arab state.

Kiwan said that the three statues are carved from basalt and date back to the second century AD.

Kiwan explained that these statues show the great importance of the writers class in ancient societies, pointing out to the texts from Tell Mardikh in Ebla and the texts of Tal Abu Al-Salabikh in Iraq near the city of Diwaniyah.

Kiwan added that that the subject of men sitting while carrying a manuscript or book in their hands is not a Roman issue, but rather a representation of Egyptian origins, as Amenhotep, the architect of the pyramids according to Egyptian statements.

The name of the town of Kufr goes back to Syriac origins and means the land far away from the people, as it contains traces of dwellings and forts at the site of Tal Al-Dhahir.

The town of Kufr’s history goes back to the Chalcolithic period 5000 to 1200 BC, in addition to Nabataean monuments in Tell al-Qulaib and various Roman, Greek and Islamic periods.

O. al-Mohammad