Will a Syrian victory at a posh London auction house accelerate Global Cultural Protections?
Franklin Lamb
National Museum, Damascus
Over the past three years not many victories in Syria have been witnessed by
this observer. Indeed some developments have even brought to mind Plutarch's
description of the Greek King Pyrrhus ' defeat of the Roman legions some while back. But an
achievement by the Syrian government and its people on 4/3/14 in an auction
house in London is neither Pyrrhic, nor of the 'Another such victory and I am
undone' variety.
The case involves an ancient black basalt stele (a stone or wooden slab,
generally taller than it is wide, erected as a monument, very often for
funerary or commemorative purposes). The artifact is of the Assyrian king
Adad-Nerari III, who ruled Syria 2,800 years ago. With a weight of 830 kg, it
measures 137.5 cm high, by 75 cm wide by 27 cm in depth. Many Syrian and
international antiquities specialists believe it was stolen from Syria in 2000
after standing for nearly three thousand years in the temple of the god
Sulmanu, in the ancient city of Dur Katlimmu, now known as Tell Sheikh Hamad.
The tell is situated near the historic Khabour River between Hasaka and Deir
al-Zour in eastern Syria, not far from Palmyra which this observer has visited
recently.
Recently the object appeared in the possession of the British auction house,
Bonhoms, a development that caused angst among archeologists in Syria and
internationally. Exactly what happened next is a bit unclear, but the
legal/political case was encapsulated in an urgent letter addressed to Dr.
Maamooun Abkulkarem, the indefatigable Director-General of Antiquities and
Museums (DGAM) in Syria's Ministry of Culture, from a correspondent in Berlin.
The letter arrived at DGAM on March 23, 2014.
"Dear Dr. Maamoun,
In the attachment I send you documentation on the stele of Tell Sheikh Hamad
which is being offered for sale at Bonhams Auction house in London for April 3,
2014. According to my information UNESCO has already informed your government
about this case. The only way to prohibit it from being sold is that your
government responds to UNESCO, addresses Interpol, and request an investigation
by the London police.
May I urge you Sir to inform your government quickly and act respectively
before April 3!
Please note also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVucfdFWTdc
Yours sincerely,"
(Privacy of signer respected)
Dr. Maamoun and his dedicated Syrian nationalist team have been working nonstop
(and some without pay for more than two years) to preserve, protect and plan
for reconstruction of Syria's, and by extension the world's, cultural heritage.
They and others are committed to stopping archeological theft, a phenomenon
which has become more rampant since the current crisis erupted. The thefts have
not been restricted solely to the rebel-held north or other areas not always
under government control; they have also been a problem near Syria's borders
with Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon, and to a lesser extent Iraq, and in some
cases, stolen treasures have also been smuggled out of Syria by aircraft.
An international campaign is being launched to save our Global Culture Heritage in the custody of the people of the Syrian Arab Republic
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