What Is 'Hidden' Is Worse; Iran Is Competing With Russia in the File of Restoring Syrian Archaeological Sites

With the end of the fighting in most parts of Syria, the two main backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran and Russia, are vying for influence and spoils in the war-torn country, and this time from the “Archaeological Sites Gate.” 

This made it to the top of the list of resources that could compensate for the costs of their support for the survival of Assad.

The allies of the Assad regime are also jostling to portray themselves as the custodians of the Syrian heritage, and that they are ready to restore the archaeological sites damaged by the war.

“However, Russia, which has controlled most of the investments in Syria, is still working to keep Iran away from reconstruction projects in Syria, because of the sectarian dimensions it seeks within Syrian society, which the international community rejects,” according to observers.

Syrian activists indicated that “Iran is competing with Russia, even in the latter's endeavor to draw the world's attention to the destruction of Syrian antiquities, with the aim of attracting international funding for its restoration, this also comes as both sides continue to excavate and smuggle antiquities.”

 

Iranian Interest

On October 02, 2021, the Iranian Deputy Minister of Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Ali Asghar Shalbafian, announced that “his country is strongly prepared for the reconstruction of the archaeological and tourist areas in Syria.”

The Iranian IRNA quoted, Shalbafian, that “Iran is ready to participate in the reconstruction and restoration of the Syrian archaeological and tourist areas, which have been vandalized, in addition to making tourism investment through building and equipping new hotel facilities.”

Press reports stated that “Iran is seeking to extend its hand on Syrian archaeological sites in order to excavate and search for antiquities; But ostensibly under the pretext of restoring it, after it suffered heavy losses in the Syrian war, it is thus trying to compensate for these losses by stealing antiquities and Syrian history.”

According to a report by the American Washington Institute, Iran has shown great interest in the Syrian archaeological sites by restoring holy sites and ancient shrines, which bears symbolism among the followers of the Shiite sect, as a continuation of the attempts of Shiism that it is carrying out.

In late 2017, Iranian militias took control of ISIS-controlled areas in the Syrian Badia, which held great importance because of its richness in antiquities.

Iran exploited its influence in those areas to excavate and loot what found statues, archaeological artifacts, golden figures, and stone tablets bearing cuneiform inscriptions; it transferred all of them to Iraqi and Lebanese lands for trafficking, according to what local networks documented.

From his point of view, archeology journalist Omar Al-Beniai sees in a statement to Al-Estiklal that “Iran wants to put its hand on important city centers, and this from the gateway of participate in the restoration of archaeological sites, especially Old Aleppo and Old Damascus.”

Al-Beniai also stressed that “Iran is now concentrated in the heart of the old neighborhoods of Damascus, Bab Sharqi, and even the Christian Church of Hanaya, they burn buildings and shops and then buy them from their owners. It is also taking advantage of the state of great destruction in the buildings located in the old neighborhoods of Aleppo and the Mashhad area, and the absence of their true owners, to put their hands on them as well.”

“Iran's militias are also widely present in the Syrian desert; it controls the city of Palmyra and prevents the people from returning to it. It is carrying out archaeological excavations in the city of Mari and in the archaeological city of Dura Arbus in the Deir ez-Zor countryside, its weapons are stored in the Citadel of Al-Rusafa in the countryside of Raqqa,” the journalist added.

 

Russian Endeavor

Last August, the American Al-Monitor website - which specializes in Middle East issues -published a report which highlighted Russia's endeavors to portray itself as the protector of Syrian antiquities, through the restoration of archaeological sites throughout the country.

The Russian interest in archaeological excavations appears to be more organized than the Iranians do in this field, Russia has the largest share in the field of excavation and restoration in Syria, Iran's role is limited to prospecting and trading in what it finds in its places of influence, according to a report on the US website.

In turn, the journalist Omar Al-Beniai said in a statement to Al-Estiklal: “Russia and Iran are constantly looking for investments in Syria, but the quality of these investments differs for each of the two countries.”

“Moscow wants to invest economically within the important archaeological areas, while Tehran wants to control the heart of the old Syrian cities and civilizations to implement its sectarian plans; However, the militias of Iran and Russia are the biggest winners through their work in the artifact trade that they find through archaeological excavations,” Al-Beniai explained.

In February 2020, the international magazine OZY published an article entitled “Antiquities are Russia's new target in Syria,” it made clear that the old Syrian heritage may be Russia's last avenue for gaining influence in the Middle East.

The magazine's article coincided with the call of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, for the international community to take measures to restore the World Heritage sites in Syria, in which he stressed “Russia's readiness to contribute to its restoration.”

According to many Syrians, “Russia is currently focusing on ways to avoid international sanctions on the Assad regime, the health, education and antiquities sectors are the only sectors in which Russia can obtain funding from United Nations organizations, as well as an additional Russian goal to give a civilized and humane cover to the Russian military presence in Syria.”

It is noteworthy that the Russian army had built a large military base within the old city of Palmyra, which is classified on the lists of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

 

Archaeological Excavations

Local news networks reported that “Iranian militias are supervising archaeological excavation workshops in eastern Syria, especially in the Palmyra area and the Deir ez-Zor countryside, it is working to smuggle it in coordination with the Assad regime forces, without any comment or objection from the Russian forces deployed in the region.”

The local SY24 network said that “the Iranian Revolutionary Guards recently started excavating antiquities in the Rusafa area in the countryside of Raqqa, and that an Iranian organization supervised the transfer of several artifacts that were found in the region to Iran.”

The network also revealed that “Iran has reached 16 archaeological sites in Daraa Governorate, where its militias are excavating antiquities there.”

it emphasized that “no one would be able to look at the quality of the extracted pieces, where it is carried out in extreme secrecy and security guards to be smuggled later out of Syria.”

“Iranian antiquities committees are excavating antiquities in the old neighborhoods of Aleppo, as a result of an undeclared agreement between the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Aleppo of the Assad regime and the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization,” the network added.

“The Syrian regime is largely complicit with the Iranian militias in the looting and trafficking of antiquities, as the Fourth Division and Military Intelligence are the ones that run the smuggling business, and the Iranian militias are a key partner to Maher al-Assad, the brother of the Syrian regime's president, with anything underground in Syria,” according to press reports.

There are about 4,500 archaeological sites in Syria, including antiquities dating back to about 40 civilizations such as Ebla, Ugarit and Mari, through Aramaic, Phoenician, Akkadian and Chaldean, and reaching Byzantine, Roman and Arabic.

In 2013, UNESCO inscribed 6 Syrian archaeological sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger: the old city of Damascus, the old city of Aleppo, the old city of Bosra, the city of Palmyra, the Citadel of Salah al-Din and the old group of villages in northern Syria.

At that time, the organization called for the establishment of a fund for the reconstruction of Syria's antiquities and raised 2.7 million euros as a first stage.

It is noteworthy that archaeological sites, Syrian museums and collectibles dating back thousands of years have been subjected to all kinds of destruction, vandalism and theft.

Huge data and documents collected by human rights organizations prove that the Assad regime is the most responsible for the extent of the destruction of historical monuments in Syria.