Following a number of days of silence, Syria’s ministry of tradition yesterday appeared to publish particulars of artefacts stolen from the Damascus Nationwide Museum earlier this week, solely to delete the data inside hours. This temporary assertion and its sudden removing have solely intensified questions surrounding what was stolen and why the museum was focused.
On Tuesday, reviews claiming that six Roman statues had been stolen started to emerge. Later the identical day, each the Directorate Common of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) and Syria’s ministry of tradition, which oversees it, issued statements confirming that objects had been stolen and that an investigation was below method, however supplied few particulars.
On Wednesday night at round 8.30pm Damascus time, the information outlet Syria Now printed photos on Fb exhibiting six statues it claimed have been the stolen objects. Half an hour later, the ministry of tradition posted a discover that includes the identical nude marble statues, depicting the goddess Venus, together with their dimensions and catalogue numbers, interesting for public info. Nonetheless, inside hours, the ministry’s submit was deleted.
The Artwork Newspaper was unable to achieve officers on the museum, DGAM, or the ministry of tradition. Sources near the establishments declare that workers have been interviewed by safety forces and advised to not communicate to anybody concerning the theft.
Severe safety considerations
A spokesperson for the United Nations physique Unesco says safety has been a priority on the museum.
“Throughout an evaluation of the museum carried out this summer time, Unesco did observe severe deficiencies in security provisions,” the spokesperson says. “As a response, [Unesco] is presently supporting the Damascus Museum in buying surveillance, doorways locking and fireplace alarm techniques to implement important safety upgrades aiming to reinforce the safety of 1 storage room solely, on account of restricted sources.”
A symbolic theft?
The theft has additionally raised questions concerning the motives behind the concentrating on of the six statues that have been reportedly stolen.
“The collection of these well-documented and well-known statues, which can’t be bought on the black market, means that the theft represents a message fairly than against the law motivated purely by monetary achieve,” says Adnan Almohamad, an honourary analysis fellow on the division of historical past, classics and archaeology at Birkbeck School, College of London.
Almohamad, who lives outdoors of Syria however beforehand labored for DGAM and has shut ties with officers on the bottom, says the operation probably concerned people with intensive information of the museum and its safety weaknesses. He identifies two doable motives for the heist: a symbolic assault by extremists against the show of such nude sculptures, or inner involvement. Nonetheless, he stays optimistic that regardless of the ministry’s “cautious” strategy to sharing info, the objects shall be recovered.
Others are much less forgiving. Cheikhomas Ali, a researcher in historical close to japanese antiquities and the president of the French-based Affiliation for the Safety of Syrian Archaeology (APSA), says officers haven’t been clear. He tells The Artwork Newspaper: “It’s shameful that we’re studying via the media concerning the variety of stolen archaeological artefacts and their particulars, whereas the ministry of tradition and the directorate of antiquities stay silent.”
