Numerous social media accounts circulated a video showing destruction and digging at the ancient city of Mari, located in the countryside of Al-Bukamal in Deir ez-Zor province, accompanied by claims that the state had failed to protect the site and that it had recently been destroyed by elements affiliated with the Syrian government.
Kashaf followed up on the circulating claim and contacted the head of the excavation division at the Deir ez-Zor Antiquities Department, who explained that random digging at the site began in 2011 by local residents, at a time when the area was under no controlling authority; the canopy of the royal palace collapsed that same year, before the site was shelled by the Coalition in 2016. He added that the area came under the control of Iranian militias and the former regime in 2017 and remained so until its fall, after which some limited digging was recorded at the site and those involved were arrested and referred to the judiciary, affirming that the ancient city of Mari is currently guarded and monitored by the competent authorities.
Why is the news misleading?
Out of temporal context: The digging and damage at the ancient Mari site began years ago and are not recent acts carried out by elements affiliated with the Syrian government as the claim states, and the site is currently guarded and monitored by the competent authorities, making the attempt to tie that damage to the present situation a re-presentation of old events in a different context.
