Syrian archaeologists, along with Russian and Polish colleagues, are assessing the damage caused to ancient Palmyra by Islamist fanatics. The city was liberated in late March by Syrian government forces with Russian military assistance. Russian state television broadcast footage of Russian sappers making the site safe by clearing mines laid by the departing militants. The directorate-general of antiquities and museums at the Syrian ministry of culture was swift to issue a statement correcting reports that it planned to “rebuild the city”, stressing “scientific” reconstruction. Meanwhile, Syria and Russia plan to co-organise a major exhibition in Moscow’s Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, which will “encompass all periods in the culture of Syria”, according to a statement. No date has yet been announced.
