Damascus National Museum Partly Reopened after 7-Year Shutdown

Damascus National Museum reopening to visitors. AFP
Damascus National Museum reopening to visitors. AFP
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Damascus National Museum Partly Reopened after 7-Year Shutdown

Damascus National Museum reopening to visitors. AFP
Damascus National Museum reopening to visitors. AFP

The Damascus National Museum opened its doors, for the first time in almost seven years, after it had closed to protect antiquities from the repercussions of the conflict ravaging Syria since 2011.

Last year, the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums announced retrieving over 78 missing artifacts found in Lebanon, in addition to about 20 Maaloula mosaic plates that will be put on display at the museum.

Maaloula is known as one of three remaining villages where Western Neo-Aramaic is spoken and is home to two important monasteries: the Eastern Catholic Mar Sarkis and Greek Orthodox Mar Thecla.

Only a single wing of the museum was opened, but it displayed archaeological artifacts dating to several historical periods that were hidden during the past years.

The Damascus National Museum, which was founded in early 1920 and moved to its current building in 1936, consists of several sections, including prehistoric monuments, ancient Syrian monuments, classical monuments, Islamic monuments and modern art.

During the years of the war, the Syrian archaeological sites were subjected to vandalism and looting despite The International Council of Museums (ICOM) publishing an “Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk” that could turn up on the international art market.

For its part, the Directorate undertook emergency measures, including the transfer of valuable artifacts and rare pieces from Damascus and Aleppo museums to a safe area, and provided security insurance for the remaining pieces at warehouses.

Syria was inhabited by many civilizations from the Canaanites to the Ottomans, and has treasures of Roman, Mamluk and Byzantine ruins, with mosques, churches and Crusader castles.

Since the conflict in 2011, archeological sites have not escaped destruction, vandalism and robbery.

The most prominent of these is the Aleppo Citadel and the ruins of Palmyra, such as the Temple of Bell, the Arc de Triomphe and the Lion of Latt.

The number of stolen and smuggled artifacts was estimated at 25,000, which were listed by ICOM.

According to the information, most of these pieces are registered and known to the Directorate of Antiquities, and can be retrieved. But a challenge rises when dealing with unregistered artifacts stolen for depots. Most unlisted pieces were illegally excavated in untouched archaeological sites throughout Syria.



Two Bears Escape Wildlife Park Enclosure, Eat a 7-Day Supply of Honey, Then Fall Asleep

Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  
Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  
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Two Bears Escape Wildlife Park Enclosure, Eat a 7-Day Supply of Honey, Then Fall Asleep

Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  
Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  

Two young bears escaped from their enclosure at a UK wildlife park and devoured a week's worth of food store honey before falling asleep, the park said on Tuesday.

Mish and Lucy, both aged four, got out of their enclosure at Wildwood Devon in southwestern England on Monday afternoon, according to CBS News.

The pair made a beeline for their food store where they scoffed snacks, including the seven-day supply of honey, a park statement said.

The bears “posed no threat to the public at any point” although visitors on site were escorted to a secure building as a precaution.

During the hour-long drama, the bears were “continuously monitored both on the ground and via CCTV” until they were returned to their enclosure by keepers and promptly “fell asleep,” Wildwood added.

“Our experienced keeping team acted immediately, following established safety protocols, and successfully used recall training to encourage both bears back into their enclosure without the need for any intervention,” the park said.

Police were at the scene and an investigation was underway to determine how the animals managed to break out. The park said an “operational error” allowed the bears to escape, without elaborating.

“This was an isolated incident, and we are conducting a full internal investigation to understand exactly how it happened and to ensure robust measures are in place to prevent a reoccurrence," the park wrote on social media.

It added, “While the structural integrity of the bear enclosure remains uncompromised, we take any operational lapse extremely seriously.”

The park, which covers 40 acres of gardens and woodland, is home to an array of wildlife including brown bears, wolves and arctic foxes.

Mish and Lucy were taken in by Wildwood in 2021 after being abandoned by their mother in a snowdrift in the Albanian mountains.

Several attempts were made to reintroduce the cubs into the wild but it became clear to conservationists that they could not survive on their own.