Historic antiquities in Yemen’s Ibb governorate are being destroyed, smuggled and stolen by artifact traders who are left unchecked by the Houthis’ poor management of the area, archeological experts and concerned parties warned.
The artifacts in danger include ancient inscriptions, statues, daggers, swords, jewelry coins and manuscripts from ancient Yemen. Some of the artifacts date back to the country’s Islamic history.
Yemeni sources accused Houthis of seeking to abolish and rewrite the country’s historic legacy.
Houthi militias have recently emptied Ibb’s landmark museum from all its exhibition relics and handed over the premise to a family to use as residence.
Apart from desecrating the museum and poorly managing archeological sites in Ibb, Houthis have also botched renovation works on one of the governorate’s oldest mosques, Al-Omari Mosque, which was built during the reign of Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab.
“The artifacts that were in the city museum and reflect a civilization that is thousands of years old have now turned into rubble,” Ibb officials told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Officials also reported that Houthis had stashed away the stolen antiquities at their self-styled cultural office in the governorate, adding that poor storage at the facility had led to the destruction of many artifacts.
“Dozens of ancient bronze bracelets, swords, and daggers, which were among the museum’s holdings, were destroyed, and ancient animal statues were also broken and turned into rubble,” sources said.
Ibb residents said that the Houthi destruction and looting of the governorate’s antiquities was not arbitrary, but rather a systematic targeting of heritage and culture.
They also accused Houthis of being behind the “blunders” that affected the renovation of Al-Omari Mosque, which is home to a 900-year-old minaret.
According to sources, Houthis had awarded the mosque’s renovation contract to one of its own contractors that completely botched the job.
A team of antiquities experts recently visited Ibb, and prepared a report confirming that the building materials used in the restoration of the mosque are not in line with its archaeological character.