A documental register of the Syrian human civilizations National Museum of Damascus

“He who wants to learn history should go to Syria ” .Magnificent words that were said by a foreign historian who found in Syria a unique museum storing in its halls the history’s movement , and the sequence of human civilizations in Syria over time . Tens of years ago there was an ultimate need for a place to enshrine the treasures of the history of Syria . As a matter of fact, at that time there was no place in Damascus to meet that wish which was realized later in the era of the Arab government . In 1919 , the “Education Bureau” was established to be responsible of all the matters pertinent to antiquities and their preservation . One of the big halls of Al- Adilia School was chosen as a place to house the nucleus of Damascus museum . A number of cultured people and families participated in this new establishment by presenting some different pieces of antique from their own property .

After crowning King Faisal as the first King of Syria in March 1920 , the museum was called the Imperial Museum . Later on , when the museum’s space became too small to contain the increasing numbers of items , The building was completed and inaugurated in 1936. The museum was designed in a splendid architectural form inspiring greatness and grandeur , on a large space of land with an iron door that opens to wide passages and a garden containing willow trees in addition to antique pieces of striking beauty scattered on the sides of the passages, narrating the stories of consecutive civilizations … An open air museum that allows the eye to roam easily around and to be amazed with what it sees . The façade of the museum represents the façade of the western al-Heer Palace characterized by its unique tall sculptures and striking designs overlooking a small pond with a number of fountains . Today, the museum comprises five branches :

1-Branch of pre-historic antiquities : It contains the remains of the stone  In this branch we can see : culinaries , flint arms and fossils of animal and human skeletons millions of years old . 2-Branch of old Syrian antiquities : It consists of five halls and contains the following civilizations: Aramean ,Assyrian, Ebla in tal Mardikh , the first and second Ugarite era in Ras Shamra , Mari in Tal -al-Hariri and the internal and coastal civilization of Syria , in addition to the alphabet of Ugarit , the clay tablets, the first musical note , and a number of silver plateaus , jewelleries , golden wares and arms of various shapes . 3- Branch of classical antiquities (Greek, Roman and Byzantine) : It has ten wings that contain the classical art of the period333BC.-635AD.exhibited in the museum‘s halls and porches , in addition to a special wing for the   Palmyra , and Dora Europos , in addition to the golden jeweleries , coins and Byzantine art . The acquisitions of this section include items from the Palmyran civilization with all its grandeur , and the mosaic of Byzantine era spreading over large areas on the grounds and walls of this section , 4- Branch of Islamic antiquities :It has15 wings with galleries and remains that have been reconstructed after their removal from their original sites . Of these remains the façade of western al- Heer – Palace , the western square , al Raqqa hall , the first and second galleries , the Damascene hall, and special halls for pottery , cyramic , stone , metal and glass .

5-The Park : It is an open air museum in itself. It has a large park under the shadows of trees surrounded by roses and luxurious nature . As a matter of fact , Damascus museum is considered a cultural forum , an institute of historical and scientific research , and an unofficial university that offers services to researchers , students , tourists and visitors . In addition to that , Damascus museum continues to play its distinguished cultural role in preserving the country‘s antiquities. Damascus Museum is considered the parent museum for tens of museums distributed in Syrian governorates , in addition to a number of specialised museums like : Palmyra , the ancient garden in Ebla , , the Military Museum in Damascus , Museum of popular traditions , Museum of the Unknown Soldier , and the Panorama which commemorates victories of the October war . These are reasons that urge pioneers of cultural tourism who come to visit the National Museum of Damascus as their first priority .

Haifaa Mafaani