(9 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Idlib, Syria – 30 May 2025
1. Various drone shots of location of archaeological site ++MUTE++
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hassan al-Ismail, director of antiquities in Idlib:
++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 3++
“This archaeological site is made up of two burial chambers, each containing six stone tombs. Based on the presence of the cross and the pottery and glass pieces that were found, this tomb dates back to the Byzantine era.”
3. Al-Ismail pointing at cross in rock
4. Al-Ismail drawing cross in notepad
5. Local resident looking at site
6. Various of archaeological site
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ghiath Sheikh Diab, local resident:
++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON SHOT 5 AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 6&8 AND PARTIALLY BY SHOT 9++
“In the past, when people discovered archaeological ruins, they would cover it up as if they were covering up a crime. The owner of the property where the ruins were found should not have the antiquities and their property seized from them, and they should be compensated. The government should pay attention to antiquities and they should restore them so that people can come and see them and learn about the history of the city.”
8. People looking and taking pictures of ruins,
9. Mid of boy standing in ruins
10. Various of al-Ismail laying out pieces of pottery found at archaeological site
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abed Jaafar, resident of Maarat al-Numan:
++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 12++
“We need to take care of these antiquities and restore them and return them to the way they were before. This will bring tourist or antiquities groups here and this will help bring back tourism and the economy at the same time.”
12. Various of al-Ismail laying out bones found in burial chambers
STORYLINE:
A contractor digging into the earth where the rubble of a destroyed house had been cleared away in northern Syria stumbled across a surprise: the remains of an underground Byzantine tomb complex believed to be more than 1,500 years old.
The discovery emerged last month in the town of Maarat al-Numan in the Idlib province, which is strategically located on the route between the cities of Aleppo and Damascus.
The community became a touchpoint in the nearly 14-year Syrian civil war that ended with the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December.
Assad’s forces seized the area back from opposition control in 2020. Houses were looted and demolished. Aerial images of the area show many houses still standing but without roofs.
Now residents are beginning to return and rebuild.
In the course of a reconstruction project, stone openings were uncovered indicating the presence of ancient graves.
Residents notified the directorate of antiquities, which dispatched a specialized team to inspect and secure the site.
Aboveground, it’s a residential neighbourhood with rows of cinder-block buildings, many of them damaged in the war.
Next to one of those buildings, a pit leads down to the openings of two burial chambers, each containing six stone tombs.
The sign of the cross is etched into the top of one stone column.
“Based on the presence of the cross and the pottery and glass pieces that were found, this tomb dates back to the Byzantine era,” said Hassan al-Ismail, director of antiquities in Idlib.
He noted that the discovery adds to an already rich collection of archeological sites in the area.
Some see in the ruins a sign of hope for economic renewal.
AP video shot by Omar Albam
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