Director General of Antiquities Lectures on the Disaster Befallen the Syrian Cultural Heritage because of the Terrorist War

DAMASCUS, (ST)-In his lecture “The Situation of the Syrian Antiquities during the War”, Dr. Mahmoud Hammoud, the

Director General of Antiquities and Museums (GDAM), explained the current situation of the Syrian museums and archeological sites and highlighted the disaster befallen the Syrian cultural heritage because of the terrorist war waged on the country, according to the GDAM’s website.

The lecture was delivered on the sidelines of the 31st Book Fair currently held at al-Assad National Library in Damascus,

He talked about the destruction and vandalism which the archeological sites in the Syrian provinces of Idleb, Aleppo, Raqqa , Deir ezzour and Daraa were exposed to. He also talked about the destruction and looting of the archeological places in Afrin area in Syria’s northern region by the Turkish occupation military and its terrorist agents.  These terrorist acts caused huge destruction to the archeological hills in the province including Ein Dara, Burj Abdalou, Prophet Houri, Janderas and several other sites.

He focused on the looting of Idleb Museum which contains  the Kingdom of Ebla’s great archive whose destiny has become unknown, and even more, maybe it is now in the hands of the Zionists who were ready to wage a war to seize it.

On the other hand, the lecture highlighted the renovation and restoration works carried out by the government to protect the Syrian cultural heritage. Some local and international sides, including the Syrian Trust for Development and the Agha Khan cultural institution are contributing to these restoration works.

The lecture shed light on the projects to be implemented by some international institutions, including the famous Hermitage museum of Russia, which will carry out the rehabilitation project of Palmyra Museum and some other historical buildings in the city.

In his lecture, Dr. Hammoud underlined the importance of the GDAM’s participation in major international conferences that can assist the Syrian government in protecting and rehabilitating Syria’s archeological sites. He noted the GDAM’s participation in the 43rd meeting of the committee for protecting the world heritage which resulted in reconsidering a decision on putting the old city of Damascus on the list of the world heritage in danger.

Dialogue after the lecture focused on supporting the important role of the GDAM in preserving the Syrian national heritage.

Hamda Mustafa