Did there remain monuments in Afrin that were not stolen by Turkey?

It is not surprising that the Turkish intervention in Syria was aimed at sabotaging the country and stealing it, that was clear through stealing of Aleppo factories and transfer it to be sold in Turkey, that is obvious in stealing of the archaeological artifacts, in which also had been transported to the museums in Turkey.

In this report, we will highlight the most important archaeological sites that were excavated, and stolen in Afrin, which contains 144 archaeological sites.

Random exploration in sites stretching back thousands of years

The site of the Prophet Hori was exposed to random excavations and the destruction of archaeological layers using heavy machineries in the pits to accelerate the work and obtain archaeological finds, which means the destruction of many fragile artifacts such as glass, pottery and mosaics.

In addition to the destruction of the Cave of al-Dideriya, which is considered one of the most important sites of global discoveries, where the bones were found Neanderthal man more than 100,000 years ago.

One of the most important sites that were targeted and completely destroyed was the ancient Ain Dara temple where the temple's main entrance and the south-eastern hall were destroyed. This site dates back to the classical period.

According to the document, the Turkish occupation carried out the excavation of heavy machineries and bulldozers, which led to the emergence of a collection of statues of stone basalt stone and white limestone in the Ain Dara temple.

One of these statues is lying on his side and is still two-thirds of his black basalt body. This is the main material used in the sculptures and floors of the Ain Dara temple. It was clear in one of the pictures that had been spread, one person measures the length of the statue 320 cm without finishing the full length.

Tel-Janders, located in the south of Janders district, was exposed to excavations to search for treasures and archaeological excavations, especially at the southern side of the hill, not to mention the establishment of military bases above the hill.

According to the co-chair of the Directorate of Antiquities Hamid Nasser, the Turkish occupation has so far stolen at least 16 thousand archaeological pieces in Syria, most of them had been stolen from archaeological sites in Afrin, adding that these pieces were found mostly in the museums of Turkey.

35 archaeological hills have been vandalized

Thirty-five archaeological sites were excavated and vandalized out of 92 archaeological sites distributed in different villages and districts of the canton.

The hills that were under excavation are: "The village of Arab Sheikho in the area of Mobata, Tel- Daidriya west of the town of Maidanki, Tel- Zrafkeh, Tel-Obaidan, Deir Sawan, Qarbah, Tel Ester, Ain Hajar, Kafr Rum, Kamruk, Tel- Jomke, Tel- Sindianke, Tel -Dremiya, Tel- Maidanki "using heavy machineries brought by the Turkish occupation army.

On the hill of Deir Balut in Janders district, some pictures of the occupation and mercenary gangs using heavy machineries (bulldozer) show digging on the hill. The heavy machineries are shown at two points on the hill, one of them in the south base of the hill and the other in the top.

The archaeological site of the village of Brad, which was placed in 2011 on UNESCO's list of antiquities, In addition to the destruction of the runway of the Prophet Hori Archaeological.

In addition, the occupation stole old mosaic paintings in Kharabi Raza in the village of Tirmsha and the village of Arbiskeh in Rajo district. In addition, the mercenaries had dug up Tel-Afraza district Mobata to look for monuments, which is considered an old archaeological hill.

Ensure the protection of archaeological sites in 4 villages

All archaeological sites under the control of the Turkish occupation are exposed to destruction, vandalism, excavation and theft, but there are ancient archaeological sites in 4 villages in the area of Sherawa need be protected.

Although the Directorate of Antiquities of the Syrian regime issued a statement condemning violations of the Turkish occupation of archaeological sites in Afrin, where it ignored the concentration of elements of the regime forces in the archaeological temples of the village of Deir Meshmash and Kundi Mazen.

Our agency (ANHA) has managed to reach the besieged villages of Sherawa to monitor the archaeological situation in these villages. There are important archaeological sites such as the temple in the village of Kaluta, Deir Meshmash, Kundi Mazen and Bashmara.

We could not reach the archaeological temple in the villages of Kundi Mazen and Deir Meshmash and Bashmara to the presence of those sites on the front lines with the Turkish occupation, and targeting the occupation mercenaries of those sites from time to time.

According to what we saw in the Kaluta archaeological temple located 30 km south of the city of Afrin, the southwestern part of the temple was destroyed by the Turkish bombing, in addition to the deviation of the wall of the southern temple to the outside.

The temple was built in the second century AD by the Romans. In the fourth century AD, the Syriac Maramaron, one of the most important Syriac figures in Lebanon and Syria, he then moved to the village of Kfar Nebo and died there, and then his body was transferred to the village of Brad.

For his part, the joint head of the Directorate of Antiquities of the canton of Afrin Hamid Nasser called for the formation of an international committee to follow up the status of the monuments under the control of the Turkish occupation, pointing to the documentation of dozens of archaeological and historical sites that have been destroyed and excavated and robbed.

Hamid Nasser stressed the need to protect archaeological sites beyond the control of the Turkish occupation, especially in the villages of Sherawa, which is occasionally subjected to shelling by Turkish occupation missiles.

(T/S)

ANHA