SYRIA UPDATES
UPDATE: The Jewish Cultural Heritage Initiative Completes Initial Assessment of Jewish Heritage in Iraq and Syria
The Jewish Cultural Heritage Initiative (JCHI)—a joint project of the London-based Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR)—has completed its initial assessment of present and past Jewish heritage sites in Iraq and Syria. Thanks to the generous sponsorship provided by the Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Family to the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, this work has identified the location and condition of 368 settlements and heritage sites from antiquity to the present day in this once vibrant center of Jewish life.
UPDATE: Ain Dara
Between January 20 and January 22, 2018 the Turkish Air Force conducted an airstrike on the Early Iron Age temple at Tell Ain Dara, an archaeological site located ca. 5.8 km south of Afrin in Aleppo Governorate. The temple is an important example of Syro-Hittite religious architecture and the most extensively excavated structure of its kind in Syria.
UPDATE: Damage to al-Rafiqah Wall in Raqqa’s Old City by US-led Coalition Forces
On July 3, 2017 the US-led Coalition conducted airstrikes on two 25 m-long sections of the city wall of Raqqa, also known as the al-Rafiqah Wall. DigitalGlobe satellite imagery confirms that the strikes hit the eastern portion of the wall. The first breach is located 80 m south of Qasr al-Banat, the remains of an Abbasid-period palace. The second breach lies roughly 500 m further north.
UPDATE Palmyra: New photographs detail damage to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Palmyra
On March 2, 2017 SARG and pro-regime allies, backed by Russian airstrikes, recaptured the UNESCO World Heritage site of Palmyra from ISIL. ISIL had previously recaptured the area in December 2016. Photographs and video footage released confirm the damage to the Roman Theater and Tetrapylon first reported by ASOR CHI in January 2017. It is reasonable to expect that the renewed fighting has also impacted the Citadel. According to some reports, ISIL militants may have mined much of the ancient site as they retreated from the city.
UPDATE: New Damage in Palmyra Uncovered
On January 19, 2017, ASOR CHI obtained DigitalGlobe satellite imagery that revealed new damage to the ISIL-occupied UNESCO World Heritage site of Palmyra. ASOR CHI can confirm that that damage occurred between December 26, 2016 and January 10, 2017. The imagery showed significant damage to the Tetrapylon and the Roman Theater, likely the result of of destruction by ISIL; however, ASOR CHI has thus far not been able to verify the exact cause. Both sites were previously left unharmed by the group, who controlled Palmyra from May 2015 to March 2016. The Tetrapylon appears to have been intentionally destroyed using explosives, possibly in a similar manner to how ISIL militants destroyed the Temple of Bel, the Baalshamin Temple, the Triumphal Arch, and several tower tombs located within the Valley of the Tombs.
