Lecture | LUCIS What's New series
Syrian Archaeology Before and After the Syrian War of 2011
- Date
- Thursday 14 November 2019
- Time
- Explanation
- Free to visit, drinks after
- Series
- What's New?! Fall Lecture Series
- Location
- Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden - Room
- 1.47
Among the many casualties of the ongoing Syrian War, Syria's cultural heritage is one of its significant victims. In Syria, there are more than ten thousand archaeological sites, around three thousand of which are registered on the national list, and six of which are registered on the World Heritage List. Since the start of the war in 2011, media have reported damage being done to archaeological sites for both military and ideological reasons. Antiquities have been looted to support fighting groups like Islamic State, and the illicit antiquities trade has bloomed. This lecture will focus on the historical and archaeological significance of Syria before 2011, as well as the disastrous impact of the war on these archaeological sites. How has the reality of the monuments changed since the conflict erupted, and what are the consequences on the culture and people of Syria?
About Ghazwan Yaghi
Ghazwan Yaghi is a senior researcher at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, where he is at work on a research project on the relationship between the ideology and architecture of the Mamluks during their reign in Damascus (between about 1250 and 1500 BC).
He originally trained as an archaeologist amd has done extensive research into the archaeology of Syria and the associated cultures. In Damascus, he was Director of Archaeological Training and Research at the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Musuems, lecturer at Damascus University and Head of Islamic Antiquities at the Syrian Arab Encyclopedia. Yaghi joined LIAS in the spring of 2019.
Yaghi's journey
Ghazwan Yaghi was interviewed by the university when he joined LIAS in the spring of 2019.
Read the interview