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 Looters have breached tombs and Roman temples have been
damaged in Palmyra, once a vital stopping point for caravans
crossing the Syrian desert carrying spices, silks and perfumes,
said Ahmad Deeb told Reuters in his office in Damascus.
Clashes between the army and rebels have damaged historical
sites and buildings throughout Syria, during the four-year-long
conflict that has also killed 200,000 people.
"Special authorities in Palmyra have done great work during the
last year when they returned more than 120 antiques, the most
important of which were tombstones that were secretly
excavated," Deeb said.
Unfortunately, some of the looted artifacts have been moved
outside Syria, he added.
Syria is a cultural treasure trove and home to six UNESCO World
Heritage sites. Four of these sites, including Palmyra and the
Crusader castle Crac des Chevaliers, have been used for military
purposes, the United Nations says.
Nearly two dozen funeral busts and the headstone of a child from
the necropolis at Palmyra were looted in November, according to
UNESCO. From the 1st to the 2nd Century, the art and
architecture of Palmyra married Greco-Roman techniques with
local traditions and Persian influences, UNESCO says.
Satellite imagery shows that 290 cultural heritage sites in
Syria, which has a history stretching back to the dawn of
civilization, have been damaged by the civil war, the United
Nations' training and research arm said in December.
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To preserve its history, Deeb said all Syrian museums were emptied
two years ago and the artifacts were put in stores. A list of
antiquities smuggled from archaeological sites have been documented
on a "red list" distributed to Interpol, he said.
Deeb estimates that more than 1,500 items may have been stolen from
museums in Raqqa, a city in northeastern Syria now controlled by
Islamic State militants, and Deir Atiyah in northern Damascus. Some
of are still in Syria, he said.
As jihadists who adhere to a hardline school of Islam have grown in
power, they present a new threat to Syria's heritage. Shrines and
tombs in areas under their control have been targeted and destroyed
as idolatrous symbols.
More than 750 archaeological sites have been attacked, Deeb said.
The U.N. Security Council last month banned all trade in antiquities
from the war-torn country.
(Editing by Oliver Holmes and Tom Heneghan)
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