Stolen artefacts from the Syrian Roman ruins of Palmyra have reportedly been spotted in the office of a Lebanese member of parliament during a televised interview, further revealing the extent of antiquities smuggling in the region.
According to Ayman Al-Nabo, the director of Idlib Museum in opposition-held north-west Syria, SDGAM purposefully did not archive antiquities. Al-Nabo claimed that regime officials themselves have actively participated in the illegal antiquities trade, saying that artefacts were left unarchived in a direct effort to enable “easy smuggling”.
Despite the allegations of harbouring the stolen artefacts, however, Machnouk insisted to the news site Megaphone that the artefacts have been in his office for over ten years and are in line with regulations by being registered at the Ministry of Culture.
