Syrian Museum Treasures Saved From ISIS Siege

In 2014 and 2015, archaeologists risked their lives to save irreplaceable artifacts from the Deir ez-Zor Museum in Syria as ISIS advanced. The operation, recently detailed in a study, saw the rescue of numerous priceless treasures, including cuneiform tablets from Mari. These objects are part of some 300,000 museum items relocated across Syria, safeguarding cultural heritage during wartime. Professor Maamoun Abdulkarim, who oversaw the rescue, emphasized that such operations demand more than logistics, requiring trust and swift adaptation to extreme uncertainty. The urgency to act was heightened by ISIS's expansion in Iraq and looting of other cultural sites, prompting Syrian authorities to accelerate protection plans for at-risk museums.