INCIDENT REPORT FEATURE: MA’ARA MUSEUM
U. S. DEPT. COOPERATION AGREEMENT NUMBER: S-IZ-100-17-CA021
BY Jamie O’Connell
An airstrike causes severe damage to the Ma’ara Museum
* This report is based on research conducted by the “Safeguarding the Heritage of the Near East Initiative,” funded by the US Department of State. Monthly reports reflect reporting from a variety of sources and may contain unverified material. As such, they should be treated as preliminary and subject to change.
The Ma’ara Museum (or the Murad Pasha Caravansary; متحف معرة النعما), located in the town of Ma’arat al-Numan, represents one of the premiere cultural sites in the region. The museum is comprised of four sections with cross-beamed ceilings connected by arched hallways to service facilities [1]. A mosque and a restaurant are located in the center of the complex, and a marketplace, bathhouse, bakery, grain storage area, and water station that supplies the facility occupy its west side.
The caravansary (built in 1565 CE) was converted into a museum in 1987 to preserve and display historically significant collections of mosaics from the nearby Roman and Byzantine-era Dead Cities, as well as Ebla, Tell Afis, and Tell al-Karkh.
Pre-damage photograph of central courtyard containing artifacts (Wikipedia; November 2, 2009)
Collapse of a section of the eastern arcade, containing mosaic panels and other artifacts (TDA-HPI; June 16, 2015)
Severe damage to the mosque and tekkiye located in the museum courtyard (TDA-HPI; June 16, 2015)
Damage to the interior of the tekkiye, which also contained a library (TDA-HPI; June 16, 2015)
In March 2016, efforts were undertaken to protect the thousands of square meters of mosaics located at the museum. Volunteers worked to sort between antiquities and debris, and removed debris from the wings of the museum. Archaeologists from the Syrian Heritage Center aided in the collecting of pieces of pottery left in the debris, which were later moved to another wing of the museum for preservation. Mosaics damaged by the airstrike were moved and sandbagged for protection. Column capitals were also relocated into the wings of the museum. The rest of the antiquities on display in the museum halls were moved inside the wings of the site.
Workers placed sandbags in front of mosaic panels for protection (TDA – HPI; March 16, 2016)
Mosaics in outdoor areas were moved into the wings of the museum for protection (TDA-HPI; March 16, 2016)
Collapse of part of an interior wall in the west wing of the museum (TDA – HPI; May 9, 2016)
Collapse of an external wall in the northwest area separating the museum from the hammam (TDA-HPI; May 9, 2016)
Clean-up efforts in the museum after the May 9, 2016 airstrike (TDA-HPI; May 10, 2016)
A deviated wall in western section of museum (ASOR CHI; May 2016)
On January 2, 2018 the Idlib Antiquities Center reported that Russian warplanes bombed the Ma’ara Museum, causing severe damage to the museum’s galleries. ASOR CHI Co-Investigator Amr al-Azm received a report from on-the-ground sources that the airstrike caused severe damage to the museum’s west wing and gallery, which was confirmed by local reporting groups.