Activists: archaeological buildings of Homs looted by Assad Loyalists

(By Mamoun Abu Mohamed; Translation by Yusra Ahmed)

 Activists of Homs confirmed that dozens of archaeological buildings in war-torn city have been completely stolen since the Syrian revolution erupted in march 2013.

Activists explained that regime’s militias have robbed those precious houses in two ways: either by picking off the unique stones of buildings after numbering and picturing them to re-build again in different place, or by collecting the remaining stones of demolished houses as a result of shelling and bombing.

Abu Walid, an activist reported that many people who returned to their houses to restore them, found them empty of historical crowns, all they have left was ordinary stones of no archaeological value.

“Sadly the distinctive features of the Homsi houses like pools, arches, Ewans, fountains and coloured marbled mosaic have completely disappeared” the activist told Zaman al-Wasl.

In regard to the black stones, the distinctive feature in Homs’s building, they were transferred to Lebanon to use them in building houses there, Abo Ra’afat, a builder from Homs mentioned.

Abu Ra’afat confirmed in his phone call to Zaman al-Wasl that he had built 3 houses within last 5 months in Zahle, Jounieh and Baabda, using stones transported from Homs, as many affluent people like to have those old ornate stones.

Moreover, Abu Ra’afat mentioned that even Homs’s stones started to get transported to Europe and Australia for people interested in Arabic old Architecture.

The builder mentioned that antique traders in the Southern Suburb of Beirut of Hezbollah supporters’ majority facilitate transporting and providing Homs’s distinctive stones, especially for overseas Lebanese.

On the other side, sources reported to Zaman al-Wasl some information of the primary technical report provided by the Engineering Technical committees which formed by Homs’s Governor about losing significant number of special stones from old Homs’s walls especially the one in al-Arbaeen neighborhood as well as the special pieces of “al-Bab al-Masdood” the only remaining historical gate of Homs’s seven gates.

Committees mentioned that many mosques and palaces have lost their black and white stones, which are difficult to replace with similar quality because they were cut and decorated by hand, and they would need skilled experts in that field to restore those buildings in future.

Engineering Technical committees explained the lost of stones happened as a result of moving stones to landfills.

In a relevant content, sources mentioned to the newspaper that a huge landfill was created in September last year in Southern Homs at Palmyra’s old road, that directly controlled by militias of the National Defence Army led by Saker Rostom.

Sources confirmed that the person who is responsible for collecting and organizing stones called Abu jaber, who is close to Hezbollah and transports stones to the Southern Suburb of Beirut under regime’s forces cover.