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A total of 36 archaeological artifacts returned from the United States to Syria have been placed in the National Museum in Damascus, Ammar Kenavi, Syria's director of museum affairs, told Anadolu Agency.
The artifacts were flown to Syria on the presidential plane, together with the delegation accompanying President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Kenavi said the objects were handed over to the Syrian delegation in New York and span different periods and materials.
The returned pieces include four cylinder seals bearing religious and mythological depictions. Cylinder seals are small carved stone cylinders rolled over wet clay to leave an impression.
The collection also includes various bronze figurines, among them a figurine of a woman that he described as artistically and historically significant. Officials believe the piece comes from the Euphrates region, Kenavi added.
The collection also includes a glazed ceramic jug that resembles ceramics produced in the late Ayyubid period in Raqqa, a city in northern Syria on the Euphrates River. The Ayyubid dynasty ruled Syria in the 12th and 13th centuries. Kenavi noted that the items come from different regions and eras, and that all of them carry features of Syrian art.
The return carries political and cultural meaning in the current period, adding that bringing back artifacts taken out of the country illegally during the war years helps Syrians regain a lost identity.
"The return of archaeological artifacts means the return of Syrian identity," he said.
He said Syrian authorities hope all artifacts removed from the country illegally will be brought back. Kenavi compared the return of the objects to the return of Syrians displaced by the civil war to their country and homes.
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