A new study reveals how archaeologists risked their lives to save thousands of historic treasures from imminent destruction by Islamic State terrorists.
They rescued around 30,000 “priceless” artifacts from the Deir ez-Zor Museum as the city faced imminent capture by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014 and 2015.
Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the province of the same name in Syria, and the region contains key oil and gas fields, which made it a fiercely contested battleground during Syria’s 15-year civil war.
Study author Maamoun Abdulkarim said the significance of the heroic rescue effort extends beyond the number of artifacts saved.
The Professor of Archaeology and History at the Emirati University of Sharjah examines the operation as a case study in protecting cultural heritage during wartime in the new paper, published in the journal Museum Management and Curatorship.
Prof. Abdulkarim says it was particularly significant given the damage inflicted on museums and archaeological sites by ISIS across the Middle East.
The study explains that conducting a rescue mission during active hostilities requires more than logistical planning.
“It fundamentally involves decision-making, institutional resilience, trust, and the ability to adapt rapidly to changing circumstances,” said Prof. Abdulkarim.
“There is rarely a perfect moment to act during an armed conflict; often, delaying a decision in search of greater certainty poses a greater danger than acting under uncertainty.”
Prof. Abdulkarim oversaw the rescue operation a decade ago as the head of Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums.
At the time, Deir ez-Zor was severely restricted, with the museum connected to the military airport only through a narrow and highly vulnerable corridor, rendering the mission “exceptionally dangerous”.
Present-day Syria forms part of the broader Mesopotamian cultural sphere, where some of the world’s earliest and most influential civilizations flourished. Before the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, Syria was home to 35 archaeological museums spread across the country.
Although not the largest among them, the Deir ez-Zor Museum ranked among the country’s most valuable institutions, with its priceless collections from renowned Mesopotamian sites, including Halaf, Dura-Europos and Mari.
The period following 2014, when ISIS expanded its control over large parts of Syria and Iraq, represented “an important example of the sort of looting, destruction, and illicit trafficking of sites and museums that took place in this context.”
“This period formed a critical juncture, as it coincided with the fall of Mosul in Iraq, the looting of that museum, and the destruction of antiquities from Nineveh and Assyria.
“These occurrences compelled Syrian antiquities authorities to promptly reevaluate protection policies and expedite emergency measures in cities that were at risk of siege or collapse.”
Amid the catastrophic circumstances, Prof. Abdulkarim says he came to understand that leadership was not about making easy decisions, but about having the courage to make the necessary decisions at the right moment—even when the personal and professional consequences could be severe.
“My foremost priority was the protection of cultural heritage, and I was prepared to bear whatever personal and professional risks and consequences those decisions might entail.”
During his tenure in Syria until 2017, around 300,000 museum items were rescued and relocated to secure sites.
“The artifacts accounted for the overwhelming majority of the country’s museum collections—including approximately 30,000 objects from the Deir ez-Zor Museum.”
He says, for him, artifacts are far more than priceless objects – embodying the collective memory and identity of humanity, transcending the borders of the countries in which they are found.
“We did not rescue 30,000 objects simply to save 30,000 museum pieces. We were protecting thousands of years of memory that war threatened to erase.
“The 30,000 objects rescued from Deir ez-Zor represent more than just museum pieces; they hold thousands of years of human history and are part of the identity and memory of the communities in the Euphrates region.”
He says timing is often the “decisive factor” in any rescue mission. Waiting for every uncertainty to be resolved, he warns, can mean missing the critical window for action.
“In a cultural emergency, waiting for perfect conditions can become more dangerous than acting under uncertainty.
“The most valuable resource during a crisis is not always money or technology. Sometimes it is trust, the trust between colleagues who can make the right decision when there is no time left for normal procedures.”
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