Tampering and random digging.. The Houthi mafia is masterful in looting Yemen's antiquities
English - Monday 13 February 2023 الساعة 09:07 am
Mukalla, NewsYemen, exclusive:
Them Rasd Directorate in Abyan Governorate, southern Yemen, announced, in early February, the occurrence of unknown excavations inside palaces and buildings in the historic Al-Qarah Castle, an incident that is the first of its kind witnessed by the archaeological site amid popular condemnation.
The acts of vandalism in the castle did not last long, as the security services in the Directorate arrested the gang that vandalized and tampered with the historical site, and referred those involved in the incident to the competent authorities.
An incident that angered the people, who declared their refusal to tamper with and sabotage the historical and tourist castle in order to search for ancient treasures and antiquities with the aim of selling them to smuggling merchants in return for sums of money in hard currency.
The security sources told NewsYemen: The initial investigations with those caught carrying out excavations and searching for antiquities or smuggling them confirmed their association with organized cells working in the field of smuggling antiquities and having close ties to Houthi leaders abroad, pointing to many pieces that are looted from sites antique.
Dhofar Antiquities.. Looting openly
What happened in the monitoring of Yafi’ is not far from what is happening in archaeological and historical areas in the areas of Houthi control, as the excavation and looting operations in the historical castle coincided with other actions taking place in sites in the city of Dhofar in Ibb Governorate, which is under the control of Iran’s arm militias.
The city of Dhofar Yarim, is one of the historical areas in Yemen, and contains many archaeological sites and treasures that tell of ancient times, including the Himyarite state, whose capital was Dhofar between 115 BC and 527 AD.
The density of historical sites in Dhofar and the presence of its museum full of rare pieces made it coveted by many smuggling gangs linked to Houthi leaders who exploit their influence in order to seize antiquities and smuggle them abroad.
In late January, some of these sites were subjected to looting, random digging and smuggling, with the aim of searching and obtaining new artifacts that could be sold to the antiquities mafia for hard currency. Looting and smuggling operations have become public today, in broad daylight, and with the protection of the armed men who are stationed in those locations for several days.
The researcher in the field of archeology, Abdullah Mohsen, recently published on his Facebook page information about the exposure to archaeological sites in Dhofar of excavations and random excavations on a large scale. He said that these acts of looting resulted in the extraction of a number of antiquities, such as a bronze statue weighing (684) grams, more than 20 cm long and (6.5) cm wide.
He pointed out that an antique bronze statue from historical Dhofar in Ibb governorate will be displayed, in addition to the face of a lion, pointing out that they are offered for sale in the city of Sana'a.
Organized looting in the historic city of Dhofar prompted officials in the Antiquities Office in Ibb Governorate to make statements confirming the involvement of security officials appointed by the Houthi militia in the city to stand behind the smuggling of antiquities and facilitate their exit.
The officials pointed out that the General Authority of Antiquities, with the help of citizens, was able to monitor excavations, excavations and theft of valuable antiquities from inside the Al-Osaibiyyah site and other sites in Dhofar, where the authority informs police officials in the directorates and departments of the need to move, but the Houthi security officials fail to do so and ignore the reports.
Houthi Organized looting
During the past years, many archaeological and historical sites located in areas controlled by the Houthi militia were subjected to looting and random excavations, which led to the smuggling of many rare artifacts dating back to ancient Yemeni ages.
The systematic looting of Yemeni antiquities after the Houthi coup sounded the alarm and prompted human rights and government agencies to launch appeals to international and UN bodies to act quickly to stop this tampering and protect antiquities from organized looting and smuggling.
The attention of the world and the attention of international organizations concerned with antiquities to the Houthi militia's tampering and systematic looting of archaeological sites in their areas of control prompted the antiquities smuggling mafia to form mini-cells and move towards remote, rural areas that contain important historical sites, which are still virgin and have not been extensively excavated. This new movement emerged greatly through searches and excavations in the villages of Dhamar, Ibb, Abyan and Taiz. The fact that these sites are far from the sight of government and human rights agencies that monitor and control all movements within the main and well-known historical sites in the country.
In early January, excavation and tampering operations were documented in an archaeological site in the village of Al-Haqil, located in the Shamir region of the Maqbana district, west of Taiz governorate, where the complicity of the Houthi putschists and the expansion of poverty in the areas under their control led to the spread of tampering with archaeological sites, and their trafficking, as the process lasted, according to researchers, more than 62 directorates in various Yemeni regions.
According to data issued by the General Authority for Antiquities, a number of cemeteries and archaeological sites have been subjected to tampering in the Sha’ab al-Qadab area – pilgrims of the Jibn district in Al-Dhalea governorate, and the site of the Hillat Bani Qurain – Shihab Al-Ala – in the Bani Matar district, west of Sana’a, which is a high plateau surrounded by ancient tombs Tampering with cemeteries was also documented in the Bani Al-Harsi area of Thala district in Amran governorate, north of Sana'a.
Residents of rural areas that have been tampered with and excavated have revealed unknown elements linked to local officials and influential leaders with the Houthis who visit their areas and meet with young people and push them towards random excavations with the aim of extracting treasures and rare pieces, and giving them promises of huge sums of money if they are able to extract any pieces from under the ground.
Antiquities of Yemen in international auctions
Since the outbreak of the absurd war led by the Houthi militia - Iran's arm in Yemen, world auctions have been holding offers for the sale of rare ancient Yemeni artifacts and artifacts, amid the eyes of the Yemeni government, which has been watching the country's antiquities and history being lost in-front its eyes.
In early November, the Yemeni expert in antiquities, Abdullah Mohsen, revealed the presence of three of the most important Yemeni archaeological groups in Europe, in an Austrian exhibition.
Mohsen said, in a post on his Facebook page, that "three of the most important Yemeni archaeological collections in Europe, namely: a mouse, a horse, and protomata (bull), are displayed in an Austrian museum," explaining that "the mouse statue dates back to the first century BC, It is considered from the Glaser group in 1894 AD. And "the horse statue from the first century BC, which is also from Glaser's collection in 1894 AD."
He stated that "the statue of the Protomat Thor, (protomat: a plastic artwork that represents the front part of an animal or a person and is usually associated with something else), dates back to the fifth century BC. The museum had obtained it from a donor in 2008 AD."
And the expert, Mohsen, had revealed, during the past months and weeks, the most expensive 10 pieces of Yemen's antiquities that had been sold in international auctions, and confirmed that more than 15,000 looted pieces inside might find their way abroad, and he also revealed an offer to sell 40 gold and bronze pieces. From the antiquities of Yemen, at a public auction in the British capital at the end of last November.
Slow government action
Recently, the Yemeni government called on the international community to cooperate with it in protecting its looted antiquities and facilitating the return of looted items to the country.
This came in the words of the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi, during his meeting with the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, during which they discussed political developments and the humanitarian situation in Yemen, according to the Yemeni News Agency (Saba).
Ambassador Al-Saadi referred to the dangers facing Yemeni heritage and cultural property due to the ongoing conflict, which have been systematically destroyed, looted and smuggled and have not received attention from the international community.
He stressed the need for the Security Council to take effective and practical measures to protect this cultural heritage, and to take appropriate steps to facilitate the safe return of Yemeni antiquities and looted cultural property to the competent Yemeni institutions.
For her part, Ambassador Woodward affirmed her country's keenness to protect the cultural heritage and archaeological properties, especially in countries suffering from conflict, stressing that her country will spare no effort to work with the rest of the members of the Council to push for a comprehensive and sustainable solution to the Yemeni crisis.
During the years of the ongoing war in the country, Yemeni antiquities witnessed a systematic process of looting and smuggling them abroad, amid accusations that Houthi gangs were involved in these operations.
