New archaeological finds in Afrin amid reports of looting and vandalism

On August 19, the Afrin Antiquities Office in northern Aleppo province discovered two funerary stones in a house in Kurdo village near Afrin after residents alerted local police. The Afrin district administration, the Aleppo Directorate of Antiquities and Museums and Afrin Antiquities Office worked together to examine the relics before they were transferred to the National Museum of Aleppo the following day.

According to the National Museum of Aleppo, one of the stones measures two meters long, 65 centimeters wide and 35 centimeters thick. The second is 2.15 meters long, 65 centimeters wide and 45 centimeters thick. Each weighs in at 1.5 tons. Both are rectangular and carved out of limestone.

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One of the stones is decorated in relief. At the top is an eagle with its wings spread out, followed by three busts, a wreath and a six-line Latin inscription. The second is a rectangular funerary stone with the carved figures of a woman and a man, accompanied by Latin text.

Speaking to Syria Direct, National Museum of Aleppo director Ahmed Othman said that the eagle carries religious and spiritual significance, symbolising power, sovereignty and majesty, as well as the soul’s ascent from earth to heaven.

He said the eagle was “the sacred bird responsible for carrying the soul from this earthly life to the afterlife, and its presence brings reassurance and comfort to the family of the deceased.”

“the sacred bird responsible for carrying the soul from this earthly life to the afterlife, and its presence brings reassurance and comfort to the family of the deceased.”

An initial assessment by the National Museum of Aleppo and Aleppo Directorate of Antiquities suggests that the funerary stones date back to the classical period, approximately between the second and third centuries AD, and come from the ancient Greco-Roman city of Cyrrhus, now known as the village and archaeological site of al-Nabi Houri.

The exact meaning of the Latin inscriptions carved on the two stones is not yet known, and require further examination by specialists in Latin inscriptions. An initial reading by the National Museum of Aleppo however, suggests they contain words of farewell from the relatives of the deceased.

On the same day as the two funerary stones were discovered, an ancient burial site was also uncovered during construction to connect water between the villages of Jumanli (Jama) and Imranli (Omra), outside Afrin.

A specialist team from the Archaeological Studies Department at the Aleppo Directorate of Antiquities and Museums and the Afrin Antiquities Office documented and excavated the burial site and its contents on August 20.

The burial site consists of a central chamber and three burial niches, each containing four graves, making a total of 12.

After cleaning the burial site, they uncovered a number of artifacts commonly placed in Roman-era tombs, including clay oil lamps, small glass bottles and stone spinning tools. They also found part of a gold earring, a copper ring, several copper pieces and small sheets of gold that were placed over the eyes of the deceased.

According to the Archaeological Studies Department, the burial site had been looted in the past, while some of the graves showed signs of burning. The burial site was photographed and measured to produce plans and cross-sections. Once the excavation was completed, the site was closed and the artifacts were transferred to the National Museum of Aleppo.

The Afrin area is home to several important archaeological sites, including the ancient city of Cyrrhus, the Ain Dara temple and the prehistoric Dederiyeh Cave, where some of the oldest known Neanderthal remains were discovered. The region also contains 36 archaeological mounds registered with the Aleppo Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, as well as a number of ancient villages, including Kimar, Barad, Soghana and Deir Mishmish.

These discoveries come as archaeological sites across Afrin face extensive damage from bulldozing, vandalism, illegal excavation, and looting in recent years. Syria Direct visited the Afrin area in 2023 and witnessed large-scale theft of antiquities using bulldozers.

The Ministry of Culture, together with the Aleppo Directorate of Antiquities and Museums and the Afrin Antiquities Office, is conducting visits to the sites to assess their condition and working to rehabilitate and prepare them to receive visitors.

This report was originally published in Arabic and translated into English by Tam Hussein.