Archaeologists rescued 30,000 artifacts from Deir ez-Zor Museum

A new study published in the journal Museum Management and Curatorship details how archaeologists rescued approximately 30,000 priceless artifacts from the Deir ez-Zor Museum in Syria. The operation took place during 2014 and 2015 as the city faced imminent capture by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Maamoun Abdulkarim, a Professor of Archaeology and History at the University of Sharjah, oversaw the mission while serving as the head of Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums. He described the mission as exceptionally dangerous due to the museum's restricted access, which was connected to a military airport only by a narrow, vulnerable corridor.

Abdulkarim presented the rescue as a case study for protecting cultural heritage during active hostilities. He noted that successful missions in conflict zones require institutional resilience, trust, and rapid adaptation, emphasizing that delaying decisions in search of certainty can often pose greater risks than acting under uncertainty.