The stunning mosaic museum of Zeugma

It appears that I have missed the construction of the new museum for the mosaics saved from Zeugma. Since 2011, the Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology has housed the rich collection from the earlier Zeugma Mosaic Museum, and in 2017, the revamped museum finally reopened to the public. With its 1700 square meters of mosaics, it claims to display the biggest collection in the world. 

Zeugma reached headlines in 1990 when the Dam of Ataturk on the Euphrates River reached completion as part of the vast GAP project covering both the Euphrates and the Tigris. This is the fourth-largest dam in the world. As the remains of old Zeugma were to be flooded forever, thousands of people had been expelled from their homes and lands. Archaeologists from everywhere scrambled to save what they could before the river and sediments obliterated the ruins forever. For me, such an act of destruction is unforgivable, and I wrote several blogs on the disasters of building dams (see: My heart is bleeding for Allianoi, Damned dams! and Damned dams, once again) 

Looking at the events from the positive side, I have to admit that parts of Zeugma have been saved and preserved. They include the Hellenistic Agora, the Roman Agora, two sanctuaries, a theater, a Stadium, two bathhouses, and several necropolises. The Romans left their marks with a Legion’s Military Base, the city walls, and a good number of residential quarters. Archaeologists recognize the historical significance of this once prosperous city that has preserved testimonies from the ancient Semitic culture, Hellenistic and Roman occupation, and beyond. 

Since its foundation as Seleucia by Seleucos I, the city was a vital hub on the trade routes and flourished, especially during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. It was the Romans who, after their conquest of 64 BC, gave the town the name of Zeugma, which means “bridge” or “crossing” in ancient Greek. In 253 AD, the Persian Sassanids expelled the Romans, and their reign initiated the decline of Zeugma (see:  Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River) 

As can be expected, most of the mosaics exhibited at The Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology date from the 2^nd century BC and are very much Hellenistic in style and imagery. However, there are exceptions where the scenes are purely Roman or display Greek and Roman gods side by side. Less often mentioned are the rare mural frescos that survived the earthquakes and mudslides that led to the abandonment of Zeugma. 

Several exceptional mosaics have been recovered in extremis from one of the residential villas, of which there must be many more. Imagine how much of old Seleucia is being lost because of a dam that will no longer exist, and justify its construction in the next century. How can we condemn IS for blowing up Palmyra and accept the willful destruction of our heritage here in Zeugma? 

The Temple of Bel in Palmyra in full 3-D

Until now, bits and pieces of the famous Temple of Bel in Palmyra have been reconstructed digitally.

A first initiative consisted of recreating two full-size replicas of the arch that at the entrance to the temple. Using the world’s biggest 3D printer, a copy-conform archway was produced and placed at Trafalgar Square in London and at Times Square in New York in April 2016 to celebrate a special world heritage week (see: In honor of Palmyra).

A second effort was made creating a 3-D image of the ceiling from the left-hand niche of the temple’s open Adyton, which found a place of honor at the National Museum of Damascus (see: 3-D imaging to the rescue of Palmyra’s Temple of Bel).

At present, the entire Temple of Bel has been digitally reconstructed by the UC San Diego Library’s Digital Media Lab. It includes more than a dozen sculptures, reliefs and frescoes no longer present in Palmyra. To this purpose, they used an amazing 3,000 digital photographs, among which some 900 pictures taken by tourists between 2006 and 2014 and made publicly available.

It’s a colossal job, the closest to reality under the present circumstances. It is impossible to ever rebuild the magnificent Temple of Bel that survived for nearly two thousand years. The 3-D reconstruction is the best our modern technology can offer.

Palmyran Beauty in full color

It has taken time to get used to, but by now, the world has generally accepted the bright colors of ancient statues and monuments. The subject was first developed in my post, Ancient Greece in full Technicolor in 2013.

The wide range of colors is something difficult to imagine, and I love it when an occasional artifact is copied in its original colors or digitally reconstructed to help to rebuild our mental images. One such example that stands out is the Lion Horoscope at Nemrud Dag (see: Full color on the lion horoscope of Nemrud Dag).

These days, my attention goes to The Beauty of Palmyra that shines at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen, a museum that holds the largest collection of Palmyrene tomb sculptures outside Syria.

From left, The Beauty of Palmyra today, with reconstituted elements, and in the final stage of digital reconstruction. Tahnee L. Cracchio/Ben Goddard/Cecilie Brøns/Lars Hummelshøj

[Picture from The Art Newspaper]

This unknown woman created between 190 and 210 AD was discovered in a tomb at Qasr Abjad in Syria in 1928. Over the past months, archaeologist Cecilie Brøns has painstakingly researched the original colors of this statue using the latest techniques in order to present it in its full glory to the general public.

Before tackling the pigments, the statue was digitally reconstructed, adding the missing fragments like the nose, lips, and her left hand. Only then was the Beauty of Palmyra enhanced with the colors to bring her back to life. Additionally, her jewels were revived digitally also inspired by the precious stones found during excavations at Palmyra.

For the true aficionados, it is interesting to know that a special exhibition The Road to Palmyra runs at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek till 1 March 2020.

3D imaging to the rescue of Palmyra’s Temple of Bel

These days, 3D imaging has become almost common good offering endless possibilities, but recreating a section of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra is quite something different.

We all remember how the precious Temple of Bel was blown up and thoroughly destroyed by IS in October 2015. It was simply heartbreaking!

As the beating heart of Palmyra, the Temple of Bel surrounded by the sacred precinct, the temenos, had defied the centuries (see: The Temple of Bel at Palmyra – in memoriam).

The most sacred part of the temple was the open adyton. Following Semitic traditions, it had two altars, one on each side. Both ceilings were cut from one single monolith stone which evidently did not survive the blast.

The amazing news is that an Italian team has entirely reconstructed the ceiling from the left hand niche using 3D imaging combined with some skilled stonework. The 3D technique is so well-developed that this copy matches the original in every aspect.

The 3D ceiling measures 12m x 1.5m and weights as much as 190 kg. It has now found a place of honor at the National Museum of Damascus for all to see.

[Picture from The Archaeological News Network - Credit  Yamam Alshaar]

There is no way this piece can ever replace what is lost but this is the next best thing. At least, we have the confirmation that from a scientific and practical point of view it is entirely possible to make such reconstructions.

Palmyra’s Lion of Al-lat restored

The statue of a lion holding a crouching gazelle from the 1^st century AD was one of the two hundred sculptures located at the Museum of Palmyra that were destroyed by IS as only four of them survived the 2015 attack intact.

We have to thank Polish archaeologists and renovators for their rescue mission one year later. They collected as many fragments and as much rubble they could. They filled 80 cases with the antiquities and moved them to Damascus in order to restore whatever they could.

[Picture from The First News]

Their reward is this spectacular reconstruction of the three meter tall Lion of Al-lat that stood in front of the museum after it was discovered in 1977 by Polish archaeologists. It must have felt as their child and they are, of course, extremely proud to have been able to piece the battered lion together again.

Much and much more work is still required to restore whatever possible from the heaps of debris taken from the museum to Damascus.

Palmyra itself is a totally different story as many of the monuments have been blown to bits, including the ancient Temple of Baal, the small Temple of Bel-Shamin, the Monumental Arch, the Roman Theater, the Tetrapylon, and the Tower Tombs. Elsewhere in statues have been defaced and members cut off.

There is hope to bring ancient Palmyra back to what it was before the war but I fear that this goal will never be reached – in spite of being on the World Heritage list of the UNESCO.

A unique opportunity to witness Palmyra’s wealth

Those who are closely interested in the art that blossomed in Palmyra from the first to the third century AD are in for a treat at the newly rearranged Getty Villa in Malibu, California.

[The Beauty of Palmyra, 190-210 AD. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen]

The Getty Villa opened on Wednesday 18 April 2018 with a chronological instead of thematic display of its precious artwork. At the same time, they will present a typical funerary sculpture from the collections of the Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen together with Getty’s own reliefs and photographs related to the once so wealthy city of Palmyra in Syria (see: The Glorious Days of Palmyra).

What started as a mere caravan stop-over became a major crossroad between the Roman and Parthian empires in which Queen Zenobia played an unrivaled role (see: The Dream of the Queen of Palmyra).

For the aficionados, remember that the entrance to this museum is free but that advance entry tickets are required (click here). This special exhibition will run until 27 May 2019 under the title Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance.

Damned dams!

After Allianoi (see: My Heart in bleeding for Allianoi), after Zeugma (see: Zeugma, border town along the Euphrates), and after many unchartered dams destroying our historical heritage, it is the turn to the town of Hasankeyf on the Tigris to be flooded and blasted to pieces because of the construction of yet another dam.

[Picture from Archaeology News Network]

The location of the dam on the Tigris River is a very unhappy one for Hasankeyf is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world. From Neolithic caves to the Roman fortress and later Ottoman landmarks, all are soon to disappear forever as crews have already started blasting the surrounding cliffs in preparation for the construction of this dam.

As before in Allianoi and in Zeugma, the Turkish government does not listen to the pleas formulated by local and international communities to preserve the site. Internationally, it does not ring loud bells like when the giant Buddhas were blown to pieces in Bamyan, Afghanistan, or the more recent dynamiting of the Temple of Bell in Palmyra, Syria, but this heritage is nonetheless very important from the historical point of view.

Of course, officials have their own arguments and as usual they underscore the fact that this dam will enable the irrigation of the surrounding land and generate a substantial amount of energy. They even expect tourists to come for scuba diving in the new reservoir in search of the submerged monuments (as if the average tourist walks around with his diving gear in his backpack!). The price tag for this operation is, however, that nearly 200 settlements will be submerged and some 15,000 people will be resettled in the newly built city of New Hasankeyf on higher grounds.

It is comforting to hear that Ridvan Ayhan, who is a member of the Save Hansakeyf Initiative, confirms my earlier worries about the lifespan of a dam which is only 80 years on average. Nobody is asking the obvious question: and then, what? As I explained earlier when talking about Allianoi, water is of vital importance to our life but dams are not the one and only solution and they are not eternal as governments all over the world want us to believe. What will happen in 80 or 100 years from now when this barrage and so many others give way? No water then, no crops, no dams, nobody to take responsibility for, and sadly no historical city to be revived from underneath the sediments. How can we explain this to our children and our children’s children?

In December 2016, the HuffPost published a cry for help with large-sized photos of the area but as usual, officials turned a blind eye to this kind of plea.

World Heritage Sites in Danger

The war in the Middle-East, especially in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan is a terribly destructive one ( see: The War in Syria, what will happen to its heritage?; Loss of our Cultural Heritage in the Middle-Eastern Conflicts). Millions of people have been displaced and the number of habitations that have been shot down and blown to pieces can no longer be counted. Among the damaged constructions are – inevitably – irreplaceable ancient sites that belong to human heritage. They are pages of our history that are torn and lost forever.

In Syria and Iraq alone, UNESCO lists ten World Heritage Sites and of those ten, they say, nine are presently in danger. ISIS, although not the only destructive factor is definitely the main culprit.

The majority of the sites are located in Syria:

The ancient city of Palmyra has been in the news repeatedly (see: The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra; The Temple of Bel at Palmyra – In Memoriam; The glorious days of Palmyra; In honor of Palmyra; Good news from Palmyra?; Open letter from Syrian Archaeologists about Palmyra;  Another Wave of Destruction hitting Palmyra). There is no need to develop the subject any further.

The well-preserved remains of Bosra on Syria’s southern border are less known but contained a great number of ancient buildings. Most famous is probably its Roman theater from the 2^nd century AD when Bosra was the capital of the Province of Arabia. Yet there also are many testimonies from the days when the city was ruled by the Nabataeans, the Byzantine Empire, and the Umayyads. Bosra, however, was one of the first cities under siege and suffering from repeated shelling and bombing by ISIS (the theater was a  choice location for the snipers).

Another sore spot is the ancient city of Aleppo, which like Palmyra was situated on antique trading routes (see: Tracking Alexander from Tyre to the Euphrates) and remained a major city in Syria. Since 2012, it has been divided alternately between rebels and government troops. Among the destroyed and damaged buildings is the Mosque of Aleppo and its Minaret from the 11^th century AD (see: Desperation of the Archaeologists).

Less known but certainly as important are the so-called Dead Cities with their precious villages and churches that flourished between the 1st and the 7^th centuries ranging from antiquity to the end of the Byzantine era. Fighters and refugees alike sought shelter among these ruins, trying to accommodate the fragile remains to their needs.

From another time-frame are the many Crusader Castles, the most renown being the Crac-des-Chevaliers. They are unique because of their mixed architecture of European and Eastern influences. Here too, the Syrian army and the rebels occupied the premises in turn without any respect or consideration for the patrimony.

Last but not least, there is the damage done in Damascus, one of the most ancient cities in the world. Damascus already was a problem child because of a population decrease and people moving from older building to newer housing facilities. This left big gaps in some of the city’s neighborhoods. The fighting inside the Old City started as early as 2012 and caused more damage. UNESCO has counted as many as 125 protected monuments in Damascus, among which the famous Umayyad Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world.

UNESCO also lists a number of precious buildings in Iraq. Unfortunately, these are less known by the general public simply because traveling into Iraq was and is problematic.

The city of Hatra was one of the best surviving examples of a Parthian city founded in the 3^rd or 2^nd century BC. Most of its city walls and towers, as well as the sacred temenos of the Temple of Mrn, were still standing when ISIS arrived. As they did in nearby Nimrud a few days before, they hacked down the magnificent figures that decorated the arches and vaulted passages. The Great Temple was a rare example of combined Greek, Roman, Persian and Arabian architectural styles.

The Assyrian city of Assur on the western bank of the River Tigris is another precious site as it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire. Assur existed for nearly four thousand years and was finally destroyed by the great Tamerlane. However, the stately Parthian Palace and Temple have survived into our 21^st century until they fell under threat of ISIS. The fate of Assur remains uncertain for if the city is not destroyed by terrorists it may become victim to the dam project on the Tigris which will flood whatever walls that are still standing.

Finally, there is the old Abbasid capital of Samarra which is the only surviving Islamic capital to show its original layout, architecture, and decorations (including mosaics and carvings). It is home to the Great Shiite Mosque that was in danger when the city was taken by ISIS and was caught up in the war between Shiites and Sunnites. It seems that the Iraqi government was able to push the invaders back.

Not very uplifting altogether. As to Afghanistan where the situation is far more complicated, there is the Valley of Bamiyan where the giant Buddha’s were blown up in 2001 and the Minaret of Jam (see: The Minaret of Djam, an Excursion in Afghanistan by Freya Stark). Meanwhile, UNESCO has put the cities of Herat, the city founded by Alexander as Alexandria Ariana and Balkh or, as it was called in antiquity Bactra or Zariaspa (see: Alexander’s Prison?) on a tentative list.

[Picture of the Bamyan Valley is from Ancient Origins]

Although this is only a corner of our planet, there is more than enough to worry about!

[Picture of Hatra Temple is from Judith Weingarten. 
Picture of the Holy City of Samarra is from Al-Islam]

Excavations at Alexandria-on-the Tigris also known as Charax Spasinou

Alexandria-on-the-Tigris, also known as Antiochia-in-Susiana and Charax Spasinou-on-the-Tigris, is one of the lesser-known cities founded by Alexander the Great in 324 BC. Pliny in the 1^st century AD was still aware of this important harbor, although by then it was called Charax on the coast of the Persian Gulf at the point where the Tigris and the Karun rivers met. Today, it is much harder to pinpoint this once grand port that served as an entrepȏt to Alexander because since that time so much silt and alluvium has been carried down by both rivers that it is nearly impossible to find traces of this last of Alexander’s Alexandria’s.

[The wastelands of Charax Spasinou today, coated in salt and the remains of military hardware. Photograph: Mary Shepperson]

It seems that Alexander settled a number of his veterans in special quarters of Alexandria-on-the-Tigris, which he named Pella after his own hometown.

Geophysical surveys revealed that entire districts were present and waiting to be explored and soon enough archaeological excavations revealed the presence of monumental buildings. It soon became clear that the heydays of Alexandria-on-the-Tigris occurred in the 1^st and 2^nd century AD and not during Alexander’s lifetime. Since the city was founded just one year before the death of the King of Asia, it may not have had the necessary support, more so since his successors had other things on their minds like their own rise to power. It was only when the Seleucids had secured their empire halfway through the 2^nd century BC that their attention turned to rebuilding the city that had been severely damaged by repeated flooding. This is how it gained its new name Antiochia-in-Susiana.

The major incentive came from King Hyspaosines, who ruled from 127 until 124 BC after having functioned as a satrap earlier on under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the waning Seleucid Empire. Hyspaosines founded an empire of his own, Characene that flourished thanks to his naval superiority in the Gulf. At this time, the island of Failaka was attached as well (see: Alexander's outpost in the Gulf). Charax survived, changing hands to the Romans who in turn were expelled by the Persian Sassanids in the third century AD. The last traces of occupation have been dated to 715 AD when it was part of the Umayyad Empire, after which Charax was finally abandoned.

For centuries, Charax was a turntable on the trade routes to Syria and the Mediterranean after passing through famous stops like Petra and Palmyra. Here, the goods were transhipped from those ships sailing in from Arabia and even India in exchange for those products traveling in opposite directions. In its heydays, Charax spread over 5 km2 and was home to a large cosmopolitan population. Alexander certainly had a good eye when it came to building new cities!

Over the centuries, the coastline has changed dramatically due to the heavy silt deposits of the major rivers Tigris and Karun emptying into the Persian Gulf. Mud has covered most of Charax’s remains leaving only vague hints of its once so massive ramparts. Moreover, this area is now littered with debris from the recent conflict opposing Iran and Iraq. This is certainly not making the task any easier for any archaeologist daring enough to start digging in this utterly desolate flat.

[Magnetometry results from Charax SpasinouPhotograph: Mary Shepperson]

Modern technology was brought to the rescue; at least, that was the plan. A small team of geophysicists spent nine days trudging up and down the site with their magnetometers, hoping to find some remnants of this once-so-glorious city while at the same time they could test the possible presence of landmines. The results of their arduous efforts were beyond expectations as they were able to discover the Hellenistic gridded layout of the city and pinpoint many of the monumental buildings. Unfortunately, you don’t always get what you expect. In this case, the monumental buildings turned out to be mere layers of ephemeral phases, and excavations were hampered by “inconsiderably-placed” dead bodies while what seemed to be a large city wall turned out to be nothing but a large ditch lined with pots. Test trenches have so far yielded only some pottery and a few badly weathered coins.

Alexandria-on-the-Tigris, Failaka and other towns in the Gulf area are clearly not going to disclose their treasures anytime soon for it will take many seasons of thorough excavations to get some indication about Alexander’s legacy in modern Iraq, yet again hampered by recent war situations.

The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra

The Getty Research Institute in Malibu, California, has put together an online exhibition about Palmyra with drawings made by the 18th-century architect Louis-Francois Cassas and the 19th-century photographer Louis Vignes.

Colonnade Street with Temple of Bel in background, Georges Malbeste and Robert Daudet after Louis-François Cassas. Etching. Plate mark: 16.9 x 36.6 in. (43 x 93 cm). FromVoyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoénicie, de la Palestine, et de la Basse Egypte (Paris, ca. 1799), vol. 1, pl. 58. The Getty Research Institute, 840011 

The Legacy of Palmyra gives a highly interesting look of what Palmyra looked like before it was so carefully and lovingly restored by archaeologists in the 20th and 21st centuries but was ultimately so savagely destroyed in the past decade.

It is a true ode to this once so grand and important city.

Another wave of destruction hitting Palmyra

Well, by now we all have read the headlines "Isis destroyed a tetrapylon and part of a Roman theater in ancient Palmyra”. The words by themselves strike like a bomb for we thought we had had it.

Palmyra has been hit on several occasions before (see: The glorious days of Palmyra).

The first victim of this senseless destruction was the little Temple of Baal-Shamin, the god of rain and fertility on 23 August 2015. It was built around 150 AD and very well preserved because the Byzantines converted it into a church. It was a lovely spot, in the shade of a young tree that grows within its sheltering walls – all relinquished to memory.

Next, on 30 August 2015, Isis aimed at the great Temple of Bell or Baal built in the year 32 AD and the surrounding portico with 18-meters-high columns that were originally covered with gold and silver plates (see: The Temple of Bell at Palmyra – in memoriam).

Unique to this temple was its most sacred part, the naps or adyton. Following Semitic traditions, there were two such shrines one on each side. The roof of the left wing showed the seven gods and seven planets surrounded by the twelve signs of the zodiac and the niche underneath once housed the statue of the main god. A smaller statue apparently stood in the opposite southern shrine and could be carried around during the processions on heydays. Amazingly, this ceiling was cut from one single monolith stone. The entire sanctuary is now reduced to dust, including the fresco on the wall facing the entrance in between the two altars. (See also: Good news from Palmyra?)

Isis continued its demolition by blowing up seven tomb towers and on 2 September 2015, the most beautiful one and best preserved Tower Tomb of Elahbel fell.

The world was relieved to hear that Isis was retreating from Palmyra but they went in style, as a matter of speaking, blowing up Palmyra Castle on 20 March 2016. After that, it was quiet till the Arch of Septimius Severus was destroyed in October of that same year.

After all these saddening events of barbaric destruction, we thought and hoped peace was restored. Isis had left and archaeologists worldwide came to assess the damage. The only buildings standing were the Roman Theater, the wall of the Agora and the Great Colonnade Street with its elegant Tetrapylon. We counted our blessings but apparently, nobody saw yesterday’s destruction coming.

We write 20 January 2017 and the magnificent Tetrapylon, a group of four times four columns at one of the Decumanus’ crossroads has been blown to pieces. Only one of the sixteen pink granite columns was original, imported all the way from Aswan in Egypt, and the other columns were meticulously reconstructed. This Tetrapylon sadly no longer highlights its key position at the bend in the Great Colonnade Street.

At the same time, the magnificently preserved stage wall of the 2,000 years old Roman Theatre has been blown up.

This latest war crime and loss for the Syrian people and humanity seems to have taken place ten days before the news was released as authorities wanted to verify the information through satellite images provided by the researchers from Boston University. Well, we have the pictures to prove it.

[Picture from The Guardian]

I fear that much of the 1200-meters-long Great Colonnade Street or Decumanus has been heavily hit by the repeated explosions. With its porticoes and sidewalks, this Decumanus was exceptionally wide and measured nothing less than 23 meters!

It is terrible to be so helpless in trying to protect and save a civilization. Khaled al-Asaad, Syria’s leading archaeologist paid for it with his life. The director general of UNESCO has summarized this situation very well “This new blow against cultural heritage … shows that cultural cleansing led by violent extremists is seeking to destroy both human lives and historical monuments in order to deprive the Syrian people of its past and its future”. (Text quoted by The Guardian).

For those who want to have an idea of what Palmyra looked like before Isis murdered the city, please visit this link or my album on Pinterest.

Open letter from Syrian archaeologists about Palmyra

Now that the Islamist forces have been expulsed from Palmyra (see my recent post: Good news from Palmyra?), the Syrian archaeologists express their concern about UNESCO’s plan to start restoring the damaged site. They feel that such a statement is far too early and beyond reality since the war in Syria is far from over; besides, implicating Russia in the future of Syria’s heritage is outrageous and absurd. Outsiders cannot simply decide on the future of Syria and certainly not on the future of poor Palmyra.

So, they decided to write an open letter to UNESCO, which I reproduce hereafter. 

Absolute despair with UNESCO: An Open Letter
On March 27th I read on the UNESCO site the press communication made by the Director-General on the re-taking of Palmyra. It goes without saying that the expulsion of the Islamists is good news for everyone, and I can only rejoice with all my heart. Even if the loss and recovery of the city of Palmyra were above all the subject of a theatrical set piece staged for the media, and not of the fierce struggle that they would like to make us believe - as anyone who was sufficiently aware of the realities on the ground and the progress of the operations on site would already have known. 

However I am thoroughly shocked, like most of my Syrian colleagues, with regard to two fundamental points concerning the treatment of heritage during what still is an open and armed conflict:

Firstly: After various conflicts of all kinds - those of the last century and those which followed during the twenty-first century - UNESCO suddenly plans the "restoration" of the damaged sites (the Executive Director “reiterated her full support for the restoration of Palmyra”) as if the war were already over and the people had returned to their homeland. The only operations that we can consider in the present context are an inventory and emergency intervention, certainly not restoration. How can we speak of restoration of cultural property when the conflict is still ravaging the country? This is without even mentioning the dramatic plight of the citizens of Palmyra, driven away by two terrors: that of the Syrian regime and that of the barbaric bearded men. More importantly, how can we decide for the Syrians what should happen to their cultural heritage? As you well know, Syrian specialists in Syrian cultural heritage, of all categories, are divided into a thousand factions because of this conflict, are refugees around the world, or are traumatized, desperate, and I could go on ... And here UNESCO adds fuel to the fire. 

Secondly: To talk with Russia about the future of Syrian heritage, and to designate that country as the only partner for the restoration of our national identity, taken hostage by the different actors of this war, is both absurd and outrageous. Russia plays a dividing role in our country, for reasons that are well known. Paradoxically, its action is the exact opposite of the one called for by the vows of the Director-General in her speech: "the critical role of cultural heritage for resilience, national unity, and peace". As for me, I naively ask where this national unity is in a country severely divided, both politically and physically, and whether peace (a glimmer of hope for the Syrians) is really likely to be reached in the near future. In any case Russia, as far as I know, is not a mandatory power over our country. So why must we negotiate with Russia the future of Syria? 

UNESCO should be a neutral scientific and moral institution, a guarantee of integrity for the Syrians, all Syrians, without meddling in their political or other partisan positions. There is no need to take sides here, either with the rebels or with the loyalist ranks (of course, the Islamists are excluded from the outset). If, in these critical times, decisions are taken for the Syrians, without their consent, in agreement with only a small minority of their specialists, this will create a huge problem in the future after the war, when it is finally possible to work towards national reconciliation. Syrians expect from UNESCO a unifying role: to unify the Syrians through heritage.

Sincerely,
Ali Othman
Archaeologist - National Heritage Curator

Everyone can hereby draw his own conclusions, I believe.

Good news from Palmyra?

Now that the forces of IS have been pushed out of Palmyra, the first journalists and photographers are able to reassert the extent of the destructions. They found much of the site intact and most of its famous artifacts untouched, it is said.

Yet, I wonder. Alright, the theater is still standing (because it was used as execution décor to kill the enemies of the jihadists) and at first sight, most of the columns on the main street are still standing, but the great and unique Temple of Bel has been blown to dust, as was the small and intimate Temple of Ball Shamin. Nothing but rubble remains from the most beautiful of all Tower Tombs, the one called Elahbel. Facts are being turned into figures and we should be happy that 80% of ancient Palmyra is still intact.

Should we rejoice because the destruction is not worse? Maybe so, but nothing can justify the annihilation of so much of our heritage and this once so great culture.

   

As to the local museum of Palmyra, it is too early to really assess the damage since most of the pieces seem to have been evacuated before the IS arrived, but still the pictures break my heart. For a well-illustrated overview, please click on this link to BBC News. Hereabove is a view of "before" and "after" (the after picture is from the BBC News)