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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Protecting the antiquities of Syria’s Kurdish-majority city of Afrin is a "national priority," Syria’s director of Excavations and Deputy Director-General of Antiquities and Museums said on Thursday, highlighting the preservation and restoration of archaeological sites at the core of its agenda.
"Protecting historical sites in Afrin represents a national priority for us,” Ayman Mustafa Nabou told Rudaw’s Nushin Heme.
“We - the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums - in cooperation with the Japanese [counterparts], have launched a special project to document and protect the archaeological site of 'Ain Dara,' which is considered one of the most damaged sites in the region,” he stated.
Looting carried out by individuals and small groups has long challenged cultural heritage management in Syria, according to a study published by the heritage journal by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, which noted a sharp increase in the illicit trafficking of cultural property in recent years.
The study specifically highlighted Afrin as the region most severely affected by looting involving heavy machinery.
The study details the destruction and excavation of dozens of archaeological mounds using bulldozers, coinciding with Turkish military activity in the region from late 2018 to 2025.
"Since late 2018, the Turkish army and its allied armed groups have controlled several areas in northern Syria, including the Afrin Valley and the Kurdish-majority region surrounding the city of Kobani,” the study said, noting severe damage to a large number of archaeological sites “due to looting with heavy machinery - actions that appear to have taken place in coordination with, or under the protection of, military forces."
The study identified the archaeological site of Ain Dara, shelled by the Turkish army in early 2018, as one of the most damaged sites, noting that “the famous stone lion statue was stolen and transported to Turkey" prior to the commencement of systematic destruction and excavation at the site in February 2019.
Satellite imagery shows that by January 2022, both the high and low mounds were thoroughly excavated and a significant portion of the archaeological strata had been removed, leaving only remnants of the stone temple.
The study said the destructive nature of excavation by bulldozers goes beyond the mere theft of artifacts; it disrupts and destroys the archaeological layers themselves, exposing older strata and rendering them more vulnerable to future looting.
Researchers have identified evidence of minor or moderate damage at 116 of 199 (58 percent) observed sites, a significant increase from an earlier study covering 2011 to 2016 which found evidence of looting prevalent at 13.4 percent of 2,641 sites.
Nabou cautioned that their results cannot be generalized to all parts of Syria because "these studies were conducted on limited areas only."
"Our work on surveying and counting the damaged archaeological sites throughout Syria is ongoing,” said Nabou, noting that “it is not possible at this stage to determine an exact number or an overall percentage.”
He highlighted the recovery of 23 Syrian artifacts held in France since 2011 as a notable milestone.
During his diplomatic visit to the Damascus in early June, French President Emmanuel Macron returned 23 artifacts to the National Museum of Damascus dated from the prehistoric era through the Abbasid era, including items from Mesopotamian, Canaanite, Nabataean, Palmyrene, Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad civilizations.
"France has safeguarded Syrian archaeological treasures for years of war, to protect them from destruction and trafficking," Macron said in a statement during his visit adding that he was "very proud to bring them back to Damascus” after they were loaned to the Arab World Institute in 2010.
Nabou commended the recovery efforts as "proof of the return of trust and cultural cooperation," expressing hope that it would mark the beginning of many cultural repatriations to come.
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