Young Syrians are participating in excavation works in northern Syria’s historical archaeological sites, collecting ancient coins and selling them to antique collectors and merchants.
This activity constitutes a source of income that contributes to providing the basic necessities of life for the youth and their families, with the scarcity of job opportunities and the increase of poverty rates.
Saddam Naasan, 35, was displaced from his city in Qalaat al-Madiq, west of Hama about 18 months ago, and sought refuge in the Kfar Lusain border area in northern Syria.
He said that with the lack of job opportunities that allow him to secure the needs of his six-member family, he was now working in archaeological fields, collecting coins and antiquities (Roman and Byzantine) to sell them against the money he needs buy baby milk and other daily necessities.
“Every morning, I go out with one of my sons, with a special device for detecting minerals and with shovels and drilling tools, and we spend most of our time searching in areas where historical monuments abound, such as castles and ancient cities,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Naasan spends days to weeks searching for archaeological finds, until he is lucky enough to find a valuable coin. He contacts a merchant or an amateur and sells it according to its historical value, noting that the price usually ranges between 100 and 1,000 Syrian pounds.
Mounir Al-Ali, from Idlib’s countryside, lost his job with the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We have no other opportunity but to search for archaeological finds in the ground... it is our right and the right of our children as we suffer from lack of basic living necessities.”
For his part, human rights activist Akram Junaid says that the excavations of archaeological finds constituted a violation punishable by law. He also expressed concern about the fate of the historical archaeological areas that reflect the history of Syria.
He added that the lack of job opportunities for the youth across Syria, whether in areas under the control of the regime or the opposition, pushed them to engage in such activities.
It is imperative that the competent authorities, governments and humanitarian organizations provide sufficient job opportunities for Syrians to enable them to secure a living, Junaid underlined.
“Then, they will abandon such actions that harm the ancient Syrian history,” he added.
