Since 2011, Syria’s civil war has spilled over into neighbouring countries, militant groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, otherwise known as Islamic State or IS) have seized caliphate control of major cities, and US, UK, and allied governments have ordered airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. More than two years since our first report, the situation has worsened, and the dire warnings of possible damage to the region’s ancient monuments have been realised.
In 2014, UNESCO arranged two urgent meetings in Paris to discuss the imminent threat posed to the cultural heritage in both Syria and Iraq. In September of that year, a report published by the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) included satellite images that revealed the damage caused to Syria’s six World Heritage Sites. This is the first report to reveal the full extent of modern conflict damage inflicted on these sites using high-resolution imagery, and confirm on-the-ground accounts from news and social media.
Syrian sites
Aleppo dates to the 2nd millennium BC, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Great Mosque of Aleppo and the Suq al-Madina have been heavily damaged. Elsewhere in the city, madinas, mosques, madrasas, and other historic buildings of the Ancient City of Aleppo have suffered severe damage. The Ancient City of Bosra has suffered mortar impacts near its Roman theatre, and new roads have been built directly through the North Roman Necropolis in Palmyra, a site famous for ruins that combine both Greco-Roman and Persian artistic influences. Jebel Barisha, one of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, now houses three military compounds within its site boundaries. Meanwhile, at the majestic Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers, structural damage can be seen in the towers and around its grounds. The condition of the sixth site, Damascus, remains unknown. Satellite images show no damage, but are not extensive; reports on the ground contradict them.
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