France Returns 23 Syrian Antiquities After 15-Year Wait
After a 15-year wait, France has returned 23 antiquities to Damascus. These items, which were brought to Paris for an exhibition in 2010 and 2011, were left in limbo due to the Syrian conflict that began in 2011. The handover took place during President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Damascus on July 6–7, 2026, marking the first visit by a European leader since the regime change. The artifacts were borrowed from four museums: the National Museum of Damascus, Aleppo Museum, Latakia Museum, and Palmyra Archaeological Museum. The collection features Roman bronzes, Byzantine and Islamic coins, and a mosaic fragment from the Great Umayyad Mosque, and will be showcased at the National Museum of Damascus before being returned to their original sites.
Key facts
- 23 Syrian antiquities returned by France after 15 years
- Objects loaned in 2010-2011 to Institut du monde arabe in Paris
- Return finalized during Macron's visit to Damascus on July 6-7, 2026
- Artifacts came from four Syrian museums: National Museum of Damascus, Aleppo Museum, Latakia Museum, Palmyra Archaeological Museum
- Return had been frozen since 2014 due to war and severed diplomatic ties
- Lot includes Roman bronzes, Byzantine coins, Palmyrene reliefs, mosaic from Aleppo mosque, and ivory statuette of Išgi-Mari
- Works to be displayed at National Museum of Damascus before returning to original museums
- Maamoun Abdulkarim called it a 'positive message for the future'
Entities
Institutions
- Institut du monde arabe
- National Museum of Damascus
- Aleppo Museum
- Latakia Museum
- Palmyra Archaeological Museum
- Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria
- Great Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo
- Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA)
- University of Sharjah
- AP News
- Direction générale des antiquités et des musées de Syrie
- Musée de Damas
- Great Umayyad Mosque of Alep
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Damascus
- Syria
- Alep
- Lattaquié
- Palmyre
- Mari
- Mesopotamia
- Latakia
- Sharjah
- United Arab Emirates