30,000 ancient treasures saved from ISIS in daring archaeological rescue

Archaeologists worked to protect thousands of artifacts as ISIS expanded its control across a region of Syria in 2014.(SWNS)

It includedancient statues, jewelryand cuneiform tablets, including numerous tablets unearthed at the ancient city of Mari.

Although the rescues took place in 2014 and 2015, new details about the operation have only recently been revealed in the study by Maamoun Abdulkarim, said SWNS. 

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Despite not being one of the largest museums in Syria, theDeir ez-Zor Museumhoused one of the country’s most valuable collections.

The museum held priceless treasures unearthed at some of Mesopotamia’s most renowned archaeological sites, including Halaf, Dura-Europos and Mari.

The rescue at Deir ez-Zor was part of a broader effort that relocated some 300,000 museum objects across Syria.(SWNS)

Abdulkarim, a professor of archaeology and history at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, oversaw the operation as director-general of Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums.

He presented the rescue as a case study in protectingcultural heritageduring wartime.

In the study, he argued that carrying out such a rescue amid active hostilities requires far more than logistical planning.

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“It fundamentally involves decision-making, institutional resilience, trust and the ability to adapt rapidly to changing circumstances,” Abdulkarim said, as SWNS noted.

New research details the efforts undertaken to protect valuable cultural artifacts from the Deir ez-Zor Museum during wartime.(SWNS)

“There is rarely a perfect moment to act during anarmed conflict;often, delaying a decision in search of greater certainty poses a greater danger than acting under uncertainty.”

The rescue was fraught with danger, Abdulkarim said, as the museum was linked toa military airportby only a narrow and highly vulnerable corridor.

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The period when ISIS rapidly expanded its control in 2014 “formed a critical juncture, as it coincided with the fall of Mosul in Iraq, the looting of its civilizational museum and thedestruction of antiquitiesfrom Nineveh and Assyria,” Abdulkarim said.

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He said those events prompted Syrian antiquities authorities to urgently reassess their protection plans and accelerate efforts to safeguard museums in cities at risk of siege or collapse.

Syrian antiquities authorities reassessed museum protection plans as ISIS expanded and historic artifacts and sites faced destruction across the region.Seen above, a view of the destruction carried out by ISIS soldiers at an ancient site.(Safin Hamid/AFP via Getty Images)

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“In a cultural emergency, waiting for perfect conditions can become more dangerous than acting under uncertainty,” Abdulkarim said.

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“Heritage protection during war is not only about what we save,” he said. 

“It is also about when we decide to act, whom we trust and how quickly we are prepared to adapt.”