Directorate of Antiquities and Museums recovers five Palmyra funerary statues

Five funerary statues of Palmyra antiquities were stolen during the years of the war on Syria, and the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums is working to restore them to become part of the collections of the Damascus National Museum.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Culture, these pieces were from the assets of the Nabu Museum in Beirut, that had  previously been bought from European auction houses.

During the years of the war on Syria, gangs of antiquities excavators in the areas that were attacked by terrorist organizations carried out illegal excavations to steal and smuggle Syrian antiquities across the border, especially with Turkey.  And then they sold them through networks of illegal antiquities trade for international auctions, where the Directorate was able to recover an important part of it.

It is reported that the five pieces will be officially handed over to the Ministry of Culture, the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums.

Inas Abdulkareem