SYRIA – Ancient Syrian treasures worth $26m shipped to US

AL ARABY UK – Since the start of Syria’s war in 2011, $26 million worth of antiquities have been imported to the United States from the war-torn country, according to Live Science.

The news website gathered its information from US Census Bureau documents, which listed many unidentified and undated items, marked only as “over 100 years old.”

The documents did not reveal, however, whether the items were imported illegally or whether profits were being made from their resale.

The bulk of the antiques in the Census Bureau documents had arrived in New York, a hub for collectors and dealers

With such huge demand for Syrian historical artefacts, antiques have now overtaken oil as the country’s largest export to the US.

It is this demand, however, that is fuelling the looting and destruction of many of the Middle East’s historical sites, which have become a fast-money option for many who are desperate to make a living.

Ancient historical sites in Egypt, Iraq and Syria have been targeted by robbers since the upheaval brought about by the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. The Census Bureau data also showed that more than $12 million-worth of Iraqi antiques had been shipped to the US since that same year.

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