The looting and trafficking of Syrian antiquities since 2011

Excerpt

This chapter presents an evidence-based overview and synthesis of what is known about the looting and trafficking of Syrian antiquities since the onset of civil conflict in 2011 (Figure 1.1). There is a special emphasis on the involvement of terrorist and other ANSA groups, particularly the Salafist- jihadist groups ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) and its successor organization Hayat Tahrir as-Sham (HTS)2, and the potential profitability of the trade for such groups. The first section provides a necessarily brief introductory account of archaeological looting in Syria. The following two sections then describe the structure and operation of the antiquities trade, both generally and specifically for the case of Syria. The next two sections present a dia- chronic perspective on the trade, showing how over the past thirty years technological and political developments have increased its commercial reach and destructive potential, and radically altered the nature of material being traded. These observations are fundamental to the following four sections which consider the criminal organization of the antiquities trade, its financial structure and its likely profitability for terrorists and other ANSAs. In the final section, some thought is given to the problem of policy failure – why public policy has very obviously failed to suppress or obstruct antiquities trafficking out of Syria.