Exhibit in Aleppo

On the 24th of October 2019, the National Museum of Aleppo reopened, after closing for many years, due to the bad security situation in the city of Aleppo during the crisis in Syria. The reopening of the museum was accompanied by a scientific conference, in which many famous Syrian and international archaeologist participated.

The reopening of the museum was an important step towards bringing life to the city of Aleppo, where this museum represents a gathering place that brings people together despite their differences. And because our Urkesh beyond Urkesh project adheres to the same principals, we participated in a small exhibit which was inaugurated at the same day of the reopening. This exhibit, entitled the millennia for today. Archaeology against was: yesterday’s Urkesh in today’s Syria, is a smaller version of the exhibit we held at the reopening of the National Museum in Damascus in November 2018.

The exhibit constituted of two flat screens, showing the exhibit panels as a slide show, one in Arabic and one In English, and 3 posters, which give a brief introduction to the theme of the exhibit and highlights the supporters of our endeavors.

This exhibit was accompanied with a catalogue entitled the millennia for today. Archaeology against was: yesterday’s Urkesh in today’s Syria, of which we have an Arabic and an Italian version.

The exhibit received many visitors, and the level of interest varied between specialists and ordinary audience members, but they all had a very positive reaction towards the work we are doing to preserve Urkesh and Tell Mozan. Many people were very surprised to see how the archaeological site is still in a very good shape, and how our local collaborators are working so hard to keep the site alive.

The catalogue was very popular amongst visitors, and it allowed the visitor to go deeper into the world of Mozan. Our participation in this wonderful event, helps consolidate the notion of archaeology as a mean to bring people closer by exploring their common past, and it helps in highlighting the pivotal role that the local communities play in protecting the archaeological sites which translates later into a deeper sense of belonging.

Our supporter, who share with us the same vision, understand the importance of participating in such events, gave us their generous financial and moral support, to help us promote peaceful archaeology through ancient Urkesh and modern Tell Mozan, and for that we are very grateful.