The walls of the ancient city of Termessos, which Alexander the Great besieged in 333 but failed to conquer due to its strong walls and powerful defenses, are being restored.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

The ancient city of Termessos was a Pisidian city built at an altitude of more than 1000 metres at the south-west side of the mountain Solymos (Turkish Güllük Dağı) in the Taurus Mountains. It is located 30 kilometers to the northwest of the southern Turkish province of Antalya.

With the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Antalya Governor’s Office, the ruined walls of the ancient city, at a distance of 300-meters from the city, are set to be restored.

To aid the restoration works, a 3D map of the walls has been made. Nearly 3,000 stones were numbered individually and scanned before the restoration started.

The stones, each of which weighed two and a half tons, were lifted by crane to form the city walls.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Antalya Director of Surveying and Monuments Cemil Karabayram said the project would restore the ancient city of Termessos for the first time.

He said the project had received 1.7 million Turkish Liras in funding, thanks to the support of Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş, Cultural Heritage and Museums General Director Yalçın Kurt and Antalya Governor Münir Karaloğlu.

Karabayram also said the walls, which originally covered a one-kilometer area, were limited to an area of 300 meters because of the main road, and were being restored using their original material without any additions from stone pits.

The 2,300 year-old walls are being raised again, Karabayram said. “The walls will be the same as they were 2,300 years ago with 3D scans. Four towers inside the walls will also be restored. This is one of the biggest and most important projects for Antalya. It is also very important in terms of tourism. We believe tourists will take more interest once the work is complete,” he added.

Karabayram said the height of the walls would come to six meters.

He said they had found arrow heads, pieces of ceramic and coins during the works.

“Lots of historical nails were found on the ancient roads around the walls. After the work is done, we will invite people here. Lovers may declare their love for each other on these walls, which have spiritual value,” he added.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [March 06, 2018]

Archaeological excavations that have been continuing sporadically on Giresun (Greek Aretias) island since 2011 will restart soon. The island is the only inhabited island in the Eastern Black Sea region.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

Ancient Greek stories said the island was used by Amazons, the warrior women of legend, for fertility ceremonies and features in the tale of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece. Archaeological excavations were undertaken in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

The examinations on the Byzantine-era tombs, walls, the ruins of a monastery and a chapel that have been unearthed during excavations show that the island served as a religious center for many years.

Giresun Museum Director Hulusi Güleç said only 10 percent of the island has been excavated so far but they aim to work in every part of the island starting from this year.

Güleç said excavations are planned to start in the last week of June and the Special Provincial Administration had provided the allocation.

He said the earliest ruins on the island date back to the 4th century B.C. but the team has unearthed traces of life from 2,000 B.C.

“We have not reached concrete evidence about it yet. Now we plan to find them during the next excavations on the whole island. We aim to find out whether people lived on Giresun island thousands of years ago,” Güleç added.

Amazons and the Golden Fleece

“Many mythological sources refer to the fact that the Amazon women lived on an island in the Black Sea. Especially, the existence of the Amazons in the Balck Sea is known. Mythological resources document that the Amazons left for the Trojan War over the Black Sea and lived on an island. The only island in the Eastern Black Sea region is in Giresun. It proves that the Amazons lived on the Giresun Island,” Güleç said.

Güleç said a number of spearheads and arrow heads have been found during excavations that may be linked to the Amazons.

According to the Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius the Argonauts arrived on Aretias Island early in their quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Fierce birds using arrow-like feathers fought against the troops but were frightened away with the sound of swords clanging on shields.

Güleç added that the upcoming excavations will hopefully verify the myths with new findings during further excavations.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [March 05, 2018]

The construction of an andesite quarry in Turkey’s Black Sea province of Ordu has gone ahead despite a court ruling in 2011 that said the area’s historical value made the site inappropriate for such works.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

In 2016, excavations revealed a 2,100-year-old marble mother goddess sculpture of Kybele in the Kurul Castle, one of the first archaeological digs in the region.

Now, in that same area, dynamites are blowing up historic sepulchers, or rock tombs, further threatening the remaining areas, including the ancient Kurul Castle.

“We don’t know who to complain to, or what to do,” local environmentalists said.

“Every day, those responsible for the stone quarry destroy the historic castle’s foothills with dynamites. We are anxiously waiting to see if the castle will crumble,” they added.

The locals are also anxious, partly because the Ordu Museum and Kurul Castle Scientific Excavations Directorate remains silent in the face of the destruction.

“The stone quarry is not on an archeological site, we cannot intervene,” museum authorities said, responding to worries.

An Ordu court in March 2017 had ruled that a quarry could not be constructed in the vicinity of the Kurul Castle, which features a unique sculpture of the mother goddess Kybele, following concerns that explosions could damage the artifact.

In 1996, the Samsun Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board declared the castle a first-degree archaeological and natural site after requesting an environmental impact report (ÇED), prompting a court to cancel a license for the quarry, which had been opened inside the protected site.

In 2011, the board once again ruled that the area was unsuitable for the quarry. But Kırca Engineering, which operates the quarry, filed a claim at the Ordu Administrative Court, stating that the quarry and the castle were located on different rock masses and duly requested that the size of the protected site be reduced.

Although an expert report stated that the quarry could completely destroy the castle, the Ordu Museum made a different report, stating that the quarry area could be excluded from the archaeological site. The court then approved the request to exempt the quarry area from the archaeologically protected zone and canceled the board’s decision.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry subsequently appealed the court decision that gave permission for the quarry to continue operations at the site.

Finally, the Council of State reversed the decision on grounds that the quarry area was in a first-degree archaeological site and that it would harm the region.

The Ordu Administrative Court revived the suit following applications from the quarry company, even though the ministry stated that “the [historical] remains would be damaged by quakes that would be created by the explosions and that Kurul Castle was in an archaeologically rare region and should be protected.”

With this court ruling, the initial decision by the Samsun Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board to deny permission for the quarry was put back into force.

Kurul Castle is located at the peak of the Kurul Rocks in Ordu’s Bayadı village and dates back to the age of King Mithridates VI, who ruled over Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 to 63 B.C.

Author: Ömer Erbil | Source: Hurriyet Daily News [March 04, 2018]

A Roman-era sarcophagus, believed to date back 2000 years, has been unearthed during a construction work in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, daily Habertürk has reported.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

Officials at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum Directorate found human bones inside the sarcophagus after conducting an examination in the area. The lid of the sarcophagus was found in a different place.

The tomb was later taken under protection by the Kadıköy police headquarters for 24 hours.

 According to a report by the Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board, the tomb and bones inside are expected to be transferred to a museum.

It has also been reported that archaeological excavations could start in the construction field.

The bones inside the tomb will be examined and undergo DNA tests, officials said. The examinations will provide information about the residents of Kadıköy, now a culture hotspot in Istanbul, 2,000 years ago.

Speaking about the finding found in the Kuşdili Çayırı area, archaeologist Murar Sav said: “Kuşdili Çayırı and its vicinity are close to or inside the ancient city of Khalkedon. There was a settlement in Khalkedon in seventh century BC, when the ancient Greek city of Byzantion was founded. On the left side of Kurbağalıdere Stream is the necropolis of the ancient Khalkedon and the tomb was found on the right side of the stream. It is also believed that there was an old harbor at the spot where the stream meets the sea.”

Sav said that the tomb dated back to the Roman era, adding: “There is no relief or writing on the tomb. Had there been engravings, we could’ve said the tomb belonged to a rich person, but it didn’t belong to an ordinary person either. There was no gift in the tomb. The excavation area should be expanded to find other tombs around.”

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [february 28, 2018]

The ancient theatre in Perge, which is believed to date back to the second century and had a capacity of 13,000 people, will undergo restoration for the first time in its history.

DHA Photo

Located in the ancient city of Perge, which was the capital of many civilizations especially in the Pamphylia era, the ancient amphitheatre in the southern province of Antalya’s Aksu district is as magnificent as the theatres in Ephesus and Aspendos.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums provided 3 million Turkish Liras for the restoration project to be carried out by the Antalya Directorate of Surveying and Monuments.

Antalya Director of Surveying and Monuments Cemil Karabayram said the ancient theatre had not been restored so far, adding that excavations started in the 1980s under the leadership of Professor Jale İnan and continued until 1990s. He said lots of old sculptures and historic artifacts had been unearthed in the theatre since then and were being displayed at the Antalya Archaeology Museum.

Karabayram said 2018 was declared “Perge’s year” in Antalya and the idea for its restoration came up during visits by the Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş to the ancient city. “With the initiative of the Surveying and Monuments director Yalçın Kurt, the problem of allocation for the restoration project has been solved,” he added.

Karabayram said work had begun on the restoration project.

“This is a very important development because the ancient Perge theatre has never been considered for restoration. All original materials of the structure still remain. It will be restored with its original materials. The Perge theatre was closed to tourism for some time due to security reasons. As a result of works, some fields were taken under protection with safety lines and the rest was open to visitors. Tourists can visit the theatre at the moment,” he said.

The director said once the project was done, operations would start by the end of the year.

“The ancient Perge theatre will regain its magnificence at the end of this restoration. Also, an academic committee is being formed for the project and the application,” he added.

The ancient theatre is made up of three main sections, the cavea (seating sections), the orchestra and the stage. The area for the cavea and orchestra is a bit wider than a half circle. It is known that gladiator and wild animal fights were organized in the orchestra pit.

The lower part of the theatre has 19 tiers and the upper part has 23 tiers for seats. The orchestra pit surrounded with rails shows us that gladiator shows were organized there. Relievos featuring the life of Dionysos, the goddess of wine, are seen on the stage, which has five doors that lead to the backstage.

Even though most of these relievos were damaged when the stage collapsed, the parts depicting the life of Dionysos have survived until today.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 24, 2018]

The ancient Greek site known as "Gate to Hell," located in modern-day Turkey's western Denizli province, really did kill those who got too close – but instead of an angry god's breath, noxious gas claimed victims, scientists have found.

In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans believed this grotto was the gateway to hell [Credit: Daily Sabah]

Legends of "Hades Gate," named after the Greek god of death, say anyone who approached the deadly breath-filled grotto dropped dead and was immediately taken away to the underworld – a tale considered hyperbole, until now.

A team of researchers from Germany's University of Duisburg-Essen who has been studying the site in the ancient city of Hierapolis uncovered a geomorphic explanation for the dramatic deaths.

The plutonium at Hierapolis [Credit: Carole Raddato/Flickr]

The grotto sits directly above the Babadağ fault line, from which carbon dioxide escapes Earth's crust and fills the cave, at levels that may have been lethal to humans in ancient times.

A digital reconstruction of the site [Credit: Francesco D’Andria]

​"In a grotto below the temple of Pluto, CO2 was found to be at deadly concentrations of up to 91 percent," the study, published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, said.

During the rites, priests sacrificed bulls to Pluto.The ceremony included leading the animals into the cave, and dragging them out dead [Credit: Francesco D’Andria]

"Astonishingly, these vapours are still emitted in concentrations that nowadays kill insects, birds and mammals."

The fault line had another formative effect on the city, one that instead fought back against death's approach and kept it a popular spot for visitors. Colourful mineral hot springs cascade down the hill near the ruins of Hierapolis, the place known as Pamukkale in modern Turkey. The site has been used as a healing spa since the second century BC under the Greek Seleucid Empire.

Source: Daily Sabah [February 23, 2018]

A 2,200-year-old crown and silver bowl have been seized by police in Istanbul during a hotel raid against historical artifact smugglers.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

The police’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch pushed the button for the operation on Feb. 20 after finding that suspects had tried to sell a number of historical artifacts.

Undercover police initially got in touch with the suspects by pretending to be interested in buying the artifacts, representing themselves as antique dealers. The suspects attempted to sell the bowl and the golden crown for $1 million, finally making a deal for 500,000 liras.

Police teams organized a meeting with the suspects at a hotel in Fatih and seized the four suspects during the operation.

The golden crown, which dates back to the Hellenistic era, a broken silver bowl and a golden ring were seized in a bag in the raid.

The artifacts have been sent to the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums for further examinations.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 22, 2018]

Four kilometers of a 2,300-year-old stone road, which connects the ancient cities of Alinda and Herakleia (Latmos) in the western province of Aydın’s Söke district, have been destroyed by villagers to make way for their olive groves.

Credit: DHA

The Association of Ecosystem Protection and Nature Lovers (EKODOSD) has initiated work for the registration and protection of the road by the Aydın Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board.

Villagers have bulldozed four kilometers of the road in an attempt to make room for their olive groves in Söke’s Tekeler neighbourhood. Upon complaints, members of the EKODOSD have examined the area with environmental engineer Haydar Coşar from the protection board, archaeologist Süleyman Özgen and Aydın Archaeology Museum’s archaeologist Songül Erbay.

Credit: DHA

The team has detected some parts of the road have been completely destroyed and some parts have been filled. Works have been initiated to bring the ancient road under protection.

EKODOSD president Bahattin Sürücü said the construction of the stone road was at a great expense by the ancient city of Herakleia’s founder Pleistarkhos. The road connects the ancient cities of Myus, Alinda, Alabanda, Tralleis to each other, as well as the Menderes Valley to the Marsyas Valley.

Credit: DHA

“Locals and trekking aficionados still use the stone paved roads that can be seen from almost everywhere on the Latmos Mountains. These roads, which have served for centuries, have been damaged by natural causes due to rains. It was used as a border wall in some regions. The best and most striking part of the ancient road is in the Kazıkaya Tunnel, located between Bozalan and Herakleia. It is really sad that a road that has survived for 2,300 years has been damaged in the last six months,” he said.

Sürücü said the ancient road should be protected for future generations.

Credit: DHA

“This type of stone road should not be damaged; its stones should not be removed and vehicles should not be driven on these roads. This way, they can be protected for future generations. Ancient roads are a very important part of our cultural heritage. It should be everyone’s mission to protect them. Thousands of years for a road in an ancient city is a big richness for eco-tourism activities in this region. A true project will contribute to the economic development of locals, Aydın’s tourism and the protection of the road,” he said.

Credit: DHA

“The ancient era roads in our region have been detected by Dr. Anneliese Peschlow during research in and around Herakleia. Thanks to the stone road from the western part of Herakleia to the top of the mountain, Peschlow has made many discoveries and has made a great effort to reveal the oldest stone road in Anatolia. Along with geographer and cartographer Volker Höhfeld, they were able to measure the historic 300-kilometer road even before the existence of GPS,” said the EKODOSD president.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 22, 2018]

An invaluable ancient altar from the Roman period discovered in western Turkey's Afyonkarahisar province during sewage works last year has been stolen, reports said Monday.

Credit: HaberTürk

Authorities have issued warnings for museums and border crossings to prevent the smuggling of the artifact, HaberTürk daily reported.

The 1,700-year-old altar had been discovered in November 2017, when municipal workers were carrying out sewage works near the Organized Industrial Site and was covered afterward.

When archaeologists arrived at the site to unearth the altar, they carried out an excavation but were unable to find the artifact, which had been stolen.

The provincial cultural and tourism directorate immediately took action and warned museums and auctions regarding the incident.

Border officials have also been notified, reports said.

Source: Daily Sabah [February 19, 2018]

Iraq has foiled an attempt to smuggle antiquities worth millions of dollars to Turkey, its interior ministry said on Saturday.

A destroyed artifact is seen at a museum, where Islamic State militants filmed themselves destroying priceless statues and sculptures in 2015, during a battle against the militants in Mosul, Iraq, March 11, 2017 [Credit: Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani]

The ministry’s general inspector said in a statement, quoted by Alforatnews, that ministry teams in Kirkuk blocked the transfer of scriptures and antiquities worth USD13 million to Turkey, which were in the possession of two people.

Those, the statement revealed, included scriptures and a bust.

It added that the suspects confessed to agreeing with another party in Turkey on the handover of the pieces. They said they were also expecting to receive more items while waiting at the Turkish borders, including jewelry belonging to the wife of late president Saddam Hussein worth millions of dollars.

Iraq’s archaeological sites sustained severe damage when Islamic State militants occupied a third of the country to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “caliphate”. The militants had filmed themselves axing down priceless statues in Mosul and other areas as they considered statues as pagan representations at odds with their extremist religious codes. However, later reports told that militants turned to selling antiquities to fund the group’s operations.

Author: Mohamed Mostafa | Source: Iraqi News [February 18, 2018]

Pieces of tombs and columns, believed to date back to the Roman era, have washed up on the shores of the Amasra district in the northern province of Bartın following waves caused by a storm.

AA photo

Residents, who saw the historical artifacts around the shore in the harbor, informed the Amasra Museum Directorate in the city. Following an examination, museum officials said the pieces might come from the Roman era.

Amasra Museum Director Baran Aydın said they believed the artefacts were dumped in the sea with the debris from a construction site many years ago.

Baran said they did not know how long the artifacts had been in the sea, adding that there were Roman-era figures on the artefacts.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 10, 2018]

A 1,500-year-old structure believed to be one of the earliest churches in Anatolia has been unearthed during archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianapolis (Paphlagonia) in the Black Sea province of Karabük’s Eskipazar district.

AA Photo

Experts believe Hadrianapolis was established in the first century and served as a settlement until the eighth century.

Speaking to the media, Ersin Çelikbaş, a member of Karabük University’s archaeology department, said the structure is believed to be one of the oldest churches in Anatolia.

“The find dates back to the mid-fifth century. When we take into consideration church architectures in Anatolia, we can say that this one is one of the earliest churches in Anatolia. Ancient resources on Saint Alypios the Stylite mention the existence of a men’s monastery and women’s monastery belonging to him in Eskipazar. In our works, we have a big opportunity to detect the existence of these monasteries or churches. The church is in a very important location. It is nearly 20 metres in length and has significant floor coverings,” he said.

AA Photo

“We found important figures on the mosaics. This place was a big ancient city after the fourth century. Alypios the Stylite was born here and died here. So this city is very important for the Christian world. We know very well that the Christians arrived in the Amasra harbour during this era and visited Hadrianapolis. Later, they went to Constantinople for commercial purposes,” he added.

Excavations for the structure, whose floor is decorated with mosaics, have been continuing under the inspection of Kastamonu Museum.

AA Photo

Çelikbaş said that the church is located on the pilgrimage route. “There are Christian structures in Hadrianapolis. We found that these structures cover an area of 20 kilometres from the center of Hadrianapolis. We will work on them in the coming years and support them with archaeological findings. Hadrianapolis is the most important archaeological city in the western Black Sea region,” Çelikbaş said.

Located three kilometres to the east of Eskipazar, Hadrianapolis had settlements in the late Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine periods. Archaeological surface surveys have uncovered 14 public buildings and other structures in the ancient city.

AA Photo

Among these public buildings are two baths, two churches, a defense structure, rock tombs, a theatre, an arched and domed structure, a monumental cultic niche, walls, a villa, other monumental buildings and some religious buildings.

The church floors are decorated with mosaics depicting the rivers of Geon, Phison, Tigris and Euphrates, which are mentioned in the Bible. Various animals also feature in the mosaics of the ancient city, which has been likened to the ancient city of Zeugma.

Excavation works in Hadrianapolis started in 2003 and have been continuing with intervals.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 06, 2018]

Excavations in Ancient Ephesus interrupted in early September 2016 by order of the Turkish Foreign Ministry are to be resumed by the Austrian Archaeological Institute. The announcement was made recently in Istanbul by the Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu during a joint press conference with his new Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl.

Credit: F. Ghizzoni

The cancellation of excavations had been imposed at the time because of Austria’s critique regarding both the developments in Turkey following the failed coup attempt in July 2016 and the insistent demand on the part of Vienna for a cease in accession negotiations between the European Union and Ankara.

“Because of the events and the measures taken by Austria, we had interrupted archaeological activities in Ephesus and we wish to resume them,” the Turkish Foreign Minister noted, remarking that “the excavations certainly have a symbolic power for Austria.”

The Austrian Foreign Minister expressed her joy at the decision taken on the Turkish side, stressing that this exceeds the expectations of her visit to Turkey and that Ephesus has a symbolic character, constituting a scientific project with an economic and tourist dimension that has already united the two countries since 1895.

Credit: F. Ghizzoni

From Abu Dhabi where she is at present, Professor Sabine Ladstätter, head of the excavations and director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, expressed her “enthusiasm and great relief over the outcome.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s mandate on September 5, 2016 to immediately stop the Austrian Archaeological Institute’s excavations in Ephesus had led to a new escalation in the tension prevailing for weeks in Austro-Turkish relations.

The Austrian Archaeological Institute has been active for over 120 years, since 1895, in the excavations at Ephesus, which belongs today to the World Cultural Heritage, and in antiquity was one of the oldest and most important Greek cities in Asia Minor, home to one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World; the Artemision, Temple of Artemis of Ephesus.

Source: Archaeology and Arts [January 31, 2018]

Syria's antiquities department and a war monitor on Sunday said a 3,000-year-old temple has been damaged in Turkish air strikes on a Kurdish militia in the country's north.

A picture taken on January 29, 2018 shows destruction at the ancient temple of Ain Dara, some seven kilometres from Afrin,  after it was damaged in Turkish air strikes according to Syria's antiquities department and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The iron age neo-Hittite temple of Ain Dara dates back to the Aramean era, from around 1,300 to 700 BC, and is named after a village located in the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin [Credit: Delil Souleiman/AFP]

The iron age neo-Hittite temple of Ain Dara dates back to the Aramean era, from around 1,300 to 700 BC, and is named after a village located in the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin.

Turkey launched operation "Olive Branch" on January 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground troops and air strikes.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the temple was struck by air strikes on Friday.

A picture taken on January 29, 2018 shows destruction at the ancient temple of Ain Dara, some seven kilometres from Afrin,  after it was damaged in Turkish air strikes according to Syria's antiquities department and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [Credit: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images]

"It has been destroyed up to 60 percent," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

Syria's antiquities department, a government agency, confirmed the attack on "one of the most important monuments built by the Arameans in Syria during the first millennium BC".

"This attack reflects the hatred and barbarism of the Turkish regime against the Syrian identity and against the past, present and future of the Syrian people," a statement on its website said.

Ain Dara before and after the airstrike. Damage to the site is indicated by red rectangle [Credit: DigitalGlobe NextView License; November 9, 2017 & January 29, 2018/via ASOR]

Former antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said the temple was discovered in 1982 and is known for its "colossal basalt lions which are exceptional".

"Three thousand years of civilisation destroyed in an air strike," Abdulkarim told AFP, denouncing the attack.

Major historical sites or monuments have been destroyed in fighting and by jihadists during Syria's nearly seven-year war, including in the UNESCO-listed world heritage site of Palmyra.

The area most heavily affected by the airstrike [Credit: ASOR]

Islamic State group fighters blew up famed tower tombs in Palmyra and also destroyed the statue of the Lion of Athena and the main Temple of Bel.

Abdelkarim told AFP the destruction of the Ain Dara temple was at "the same level of atrocity" as IS blowing up the Temple of Bel.

He also voiced concern for a group of 40 ancient villages in the Afrin region, which UNESCO calls "Ancient Villages of Northern Syria" and includes on its world heritage list.

"The villages, which date from the 1st to 7th centuries (AD), feature a remarkably well preserved landscape and the architectural remains of dwellings, pagan temples, churches, cisterns, bathhouses," according to the UNESCO website.

Syria's conflict has killed more than 340,000 people and displaced millions since it began in March 2011.

Source: AFP [January 29, 2018]