Monday 20 / May / 2024
Muscat: The National Museum celebrated on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 the delivery of Syrian antiquities to their homeland from the United Kingdom
The National Museum celebrated the delivery of Syrian antiquities to their homeland from the British Museum in the United Kingdom, through coordination with a number of military authorities concerned with local and international archaeological affairs, and within the framework of the mediation efforts adopted by the National Museum, and its support for efforts to preserve the damaged Syrian cultural heritage during the years of crisis.
Her Excellency Dr. Lubanah Mshawah, Syrian Minister of Culture, expressed her thanks and gratitude to the Sultanate of Oman, which responded to the request to return the artifacts without hesitation and undertook to receive and transport the artifact to Muscat, explaining that this return has a special symbolism, as it was crowned with success after efforts made by several parties for years, driven by their awareness of the human and cultural value of these antiquities.
His Excellency Jamal bin Hassan Al-Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, said: “The initiative to return Syrian artifacts to their homeland is the result of tripartite cooperation between the National Museum, the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of the Syrian Arab Republic, and the Hermitage Museum in the Russian Federation, and a continuation of the process of cooperation regarding the preservation and preservation of heritage.” The Syrians who were affected during the years of crisis.
His Excellency stressed that contributing to the revival of Syrian cultural heritage during the exceptional circumstances it is going through is a humanitarian duty and a shared responsibility, and it has a major role in enhancing the sense of national identity, achieving the concept of reconciliation and tolerance, builds confidence, and contributes to the return of political and social stability, to complete the path to building and rebuilding Syria.
His Excellency Dr. Idris Ahmed Mia, Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic accredited to the Sultanate of Oman, said: “The cultural and cultural denominators and commonalities between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Sultanate of Oman are ancient. The Sultanate of Oman and Syria share a deep-rooted history and civilizational levels, as its lands contain antiquities dating back to the Stone and Bronze Ages as well as This is the case in Syria."
The Ambassador added" : The brothers in the Sultanate recovering Syrian antiquities and returning them to their original homeland is further evidence of the keenness of Oman, leadership and people, on global human heritage in general and Syrian heritage in particular."
It is worth noting that the returned artifacts are a stone “lintel” and parts of an archaeological building made of steatite dating back to the middle of the fourth century AD (the Byzantine Empire), and the origin of the artifacts goes back to the archaeological site of Nawa, in the city of Hauran, located in the south of the Syrian Arab Republic.
