Antiquities Directorate: Apamea Museum Exposed to Looting and Vandalism by Terrorist Organizations
Apamea is one of the most important archaeological sites in Syria. It contains historic monuments dating back to the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods.
It is distinguished mainly by its main street, arches, spiral columns, theater, valleys, cathedral, churches, palace and mosaic panels.
This important archaeological site was brutally targeted by the savage attacks of the armed terrorist organizations which destroyed and stole a lot of the contents of Apamea archaeological museum, Qalaat al-Madiq (Al-Madiq castel) and other archaeological places.
“The archaeological museum of Apamea was exposed to acts of looting by the terrorist groups . The preliminary survey carried out by the Antiquities and Museum Directorate for the damage revealed that Mosaic paintings, artifacts and statues were stolen from the museum,” Dr. Mahmoud Hamoud, Director of Antiquities and Museums, told SANA correspondent.
Dr. Hamoud confirmed that a number of the museum’s objects were rescued by one of the museum’s employees and were placed in safe places before the terrorists attacked the museum with the purpose of looting and stealing its contents.
Dr. Hammoud pointed out that the digging works scene around the site stress the illegal excavations and acts of destruction carried out to steal the important treasures and smuggle them outside Syria.
He pointed out that the preliminary survey committee, in coordination with the Syrian Arab Army, visited the site, the museum and the castle and documented the cases of vandalism. A more accurate documentation of the damage and an inventory of the existing contents in order to identify the quantity of the stolen pieces, will be conducted in a later stage.
The Director of Antiquities and Museums highly appreciated the efforts of the Syrian Arab Army and the sacrifices it made to liberate the archaeological site that is important to the world civilization.
It is worth mentioning that Apamea Museum was built in early 16th century and is considered one of the most important museums of mosaics in the region. It contains dozens of mosaic panels, for which the region and Apamea are famous and which have been an evidence of the greatness of this city in history.
The Qalaat al-Madiq is one of the many castles scattered along the mountains of the Syrian coast and has a great high wall in the form of irregular polygon on which many towers having a square shape were installed. It also has a large door topped by an arch and surrounded by two guard towers.
Rawaa Ghanam