In an effort to help stem the significant loss of cultural artefacts and landmarks in Syria, Penn Museum in Philadelphia, US and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, have teamed up with the Syrian Interim Government’s Heritage Task Force to offer specialist training for the war-torn nation’s museums and monuments.

A three day training programme – Emergency Care for Syrian Museum Collections – focusing on safeguarding high risk collections, was completed last month with additional schemes already in the works, pending funding.

The objectives of the workshop were three-fold. Firstly, to offer information on how to secure museum collections safely during emergencies, then to provide participants with basic supplies for packing and securing museum collections. The final aim was to begin a dialogue among Syrian participants about emergency responses.

“While it is very difficult for international heritage organisations to travel into Syria today, there are a number of Syrians who regularly risk their lives to protect their cultural heritage,” said Brian Daniels, director of research and programmes at Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the Penn Museum. “This workshop and other efforts going forward are designed to support these individuals and their efforts.”

Despite preservation efforts, World Heritage sites like the historic city of Aleppo and Krak des Chevaliers, as well as medieval Christian cemeteries and numerous archaeological sites and museums, have been subjected to extensive raiding and looting.

UNESCO has had its eyes pointed towards Syria, with plans to establish an observatory in Lebanon to monitor and assess Syria’s buildings, artefacts and intangible cultural heritage, to combat illicit trafficking of items of historical significance from the war-torn region.