Syria's ancient city of Palmyra faces severe looting under the cover of darkness as grave robbers seek artifacts from ancient graves buried for over 2,000 years. This illegal activity not only destroys historical sites but also distorts archaeological findings by mixing layers from different periods. Experts report a dramatic rise in the trafficking of Syrian antiquities since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, exacerbating the risk to cultural heritage and leading to significant losses in historical context and artifacts.
"When people mix them together, it will be impossible for archaeologists to understand what they're looking at," said Mohammed al-Fares, highlighting the irreparable damage to historical context caused by looting.
"When the [Assad] regime fell, we saw a huge spike on the ground. It was a complete breakdown of any constraints that might have existed in the regime periods that controlled looting," stated Amr al-Azm, pointing to increased looting post-regime.
Collection
[
|
...
]