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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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Syria's cultural treasures at risk
9/29/2013 9:17:51 AM
Syria's history at risk

Syria's other toll: cultural gems stolen, looted, destroyed

Clay cuneiform tablet with rounded corners, Mari, 1900 - 64 BC, 7.1 x 7 cm. (Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus)

Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus 22 hours ago


Besides killing more than 100,000 people, Syria's civil war is exacting another irreparable toll as historic sites and artworks are looted or destroyed in the fighting.

An emergency list of endangered artworks was released Wednesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The initiative stems from the International Council of Museums, in collaboration with UNESCO and the US State Department.

Click here to see the complete list.


Syria's cultural treasures at risk


Historical sites and priceless artwork are being destroyed and looted amid the country's civil war.


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: Syria's cultural treasures at risk
9/29/2013 9:22:43 AM
Syria's other toll: cultural gems stolen, looted, destroyed

(This is a selection only):

Terracotta female figurine, Halaf, 6th millennium BC, 8.8 cm. (Bavarian State Archaeological Collection, Munich)


Ceramic globular jar with painted red geometric motifs, Central Syria, Early Bronze Age II (1800 - 1600 BC), 20 x Os/ max. 15 cm. (National Museum of Damascus) [Wrong description?]

Baked clay votive figurines, Euphrates region, Early Bronze Age IV (2300 - 2000 BC), max. height 21.8 cm. (Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels)

Alabaster statue of a Mari woman with eyes inlaid with shell and blue stone (lapis lazuli), Mari, ca. 2350 BC, 36 cm. (National Museum of Damascus/Sophie Cluzan)


Alabaster statue of a Mari man with eyes inlaid with shell and blue stone (lapis lazuli), Mari, ca. 2400 BC, 40 cm. (National Museum of Damascus/Sophie Cluzan)


Limestone funerary bust, Palmyra, 3rd century AD, 60 x 45 cm. (Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus)


Gypsum low relief of ';Asadu and Sadai', Dura-Europos, 1st - 2nd century AD, 46 x 46 x 8 cm. (National Museum of Damascus)


Unglazed cast ceramic flask with Arabic inscriptions and moulded decorations, Hama, Islamic era (14th - 16th century AD), 20 x 10 x 5 cm. (Hama National Museum)


Painted ceramic bowl, Bab Sharqi (Damascus), Islamic era (14th - 15th century AD), 5 x 9.8 cm. (Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus)



Copper casserole with rounded bottom decorated with three men with halos and floral and geometrical figures, Damascus, Mamluk Period (AD 1249 - 1323) (National Museum of Damascus)


White limestone Corinthian capital with two rows of acanthi leaves, Harem, Byzantine period (5th - 6th centuries AD) 61 x 14 x inf. 47 cm. (Idlib Museum)


White limestone lintel, Byzantine period (5th - 6th centuries AD), 253 x 69 x 66 cm. (Idlib Museum)


Bronze lamp, Damascus region, Roman period (64 BC - AD 636), 2.7 x 13.2 cm. (Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus)


Metal astrolabe, Islamic era (16th century), 2.5 x 15.3 cm.(National Museum of Damascus)


Hematite cylinder seal and impression, Ugarit, ca. 2000 - 1190 BC, 3 x 2 cm. (Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus)


... and many more treasures that you can view here.



"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Roger Macdivitt .

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RE: Syria's cultural treasures at risk
9/29/2013 9:33:18 AM

Terrible ongoing story in human history.

In the last few years we have seen Iraq and Serbia and Egypt and Bosnia, the list goes on.

Cultural and historical gems being stolen, destroyed and lost.

It's the way of human history I'm sad to say.

If we could store all of the treasures in one safe place on earth, the day would come when someone or something would threaten it. This is what is so important about recording every important thing that we find. At least we have this invaluable record to pass on.

Even modern records are at risk. Have all microfische slides been digitalized? I doubt it.

On the scale of things, the human toll in Syria is about as bad as it gets in terms of the percentage affected. Let's pray that common sense prevails and the better things that we all look forward come soon.

We need, as a world population, to see the most severe punishments put in place and made public when crimes involving a nation's treasures are finally proved to be the culprits actions.

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: Syria's cultural treasures at risk
10/1/2013 1:43:02 AM

What can I add, Roger? I feel just like you. The signs of the times, I am afraid...

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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