Syria displays 21 returned US artifacts at Damascus National Museum

Twenty-one archaeological artifacts returned to Syria from the United States were placed in the National Museum in the capital, Damascus. Ammar Kenavi, director of Syria's Museums Department, said the artifacts returned from the US were brought back to the country on the presidential plane along with the delegation accompanying President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Kenavi stressed that the return of the artifacts carries important political and cultural significance, especially at the current stage, noting that bringing back objects that were illegally taken out of the country during the war years helps the Syrian people recover their lost identity. 'The return of archaeological artifacts also means the return of Syrian identity,' he said. Kenavi said they hope all artifacts illegally taken from Syria will be returned and compared their return to 'the return of Syrians displaced by the civil war to their country and homes.' He said the 21 artifacts handed over to the Syrian delegation in New York and brought to the museum belong to different periods and materials. Among the returned items, Kenavi noted, are four cylinder seals bearing religious and mythological depictions, as well as various bronze figurines, including a bronze statuette of a woman of artistic and historical significance. Kenavi said the artifact is believed to have come from Syria's Euphrates region. He also said the returned artifacts include a glazed ceramic jug resembling ceramics produced in Raqqa during the late Ayyubid period. Kenavi said the artifacts come from different regions and historical periods, but all bear the characteristics of Syrian art.