“It is not the oldest of its kind, but it’s the most complete and the rarest,” said Hammam Saad, Associate Director at Syria’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in an interview with the Associated Press, adding: “We have no similar mosaic.”

The artwork in question, made of half-inch square stone tiles, is remarkably well-preserved, having been hidden underneath the 1,600-year-old Roman building that stood above it until recently. The property was bought by businessmen with the Nabu Museum in Lebanon and donated to the Syrian government for excavation.

“There are other buildings, and it’s clear that the mosaic extends far wider,” Sulaf Fawakherji, Syrian actress and board member at the Nabu Museum, told the AP. “Rastan historically is an important city, and it could possibly be a very important heritage city for tourism.”

Having unearthed roughly 1,300 square feet so far, the grand floor covering depicts scenes from the Trojan War, featuring soldiers with swords and shields and the names of many Greek leaders who fought in the 1200 B.C. conflict. The Roman water god Neptune is also highlighted in one panel along with 40 of his mistresses. Another segment shows the Greek demi-god Hercules battling the queen of the Amazons and her ancient warriors in one of his 12 labors.

“What is in front of us is a discovery that is rare on a global scale,” says Saad. “We can’t identify the type of the building, whether it’s a public bathhouse or something else, because we have not finished excavating yet.” Syrian officials heralded the discovery of this mosaic as the most important archeological find since the civil war started 11 years ago.

Rastan was one of the first Syrian cities to rise up in rebellion against the totalitarian government of Bashar al-Assad, experiencing a tumultuous seven years until the Syrian government regained control in 2018. The city has had a rich historical past as an important locale during Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman rule.

Many of the country’s national treasures were vandalized or destroyed during the civil war. All six of Syria’s UNESCO sites have been damaged in some way amidst the fighting. The worst artifact offense was in 2015, when the Islamic State took over the ancient city of Palmrya and destroyed the first century A.D. Temple of Bel with explosives, as well as the third-century Roman Arch of Triumph and the second century B.C. Temple of Baalshamin. Since the Syrian government has reclaimed the city, it has been working on plans to restore all three sites.

Even this latest mosaic was under threat of removal from rebel armies in the recent past.

“Unfortunately, there were armed groups that tried to sell the mosaic at one point in 2017 and listed it on social media platforms,” Saad explains. Luckily, it’s once again protected by the government — even if that government is tyrannical and should not be allowed to continue ruling.

The post 1,600-Year-Old Roman Mosaic Unearthed in Syrian Town first appeared on Dornob.

In an effort to help refugees from Syria and other countries that traversed the Mediterranean to escape persecution, an art project called “Human Cargo” was initiated. The project hopes to help them heal from the terror they’ve endured and cope with the loss of family and friends they experienced along the way. It’s also hoped that the project will make more Germans sympathetic to their plight and inspire them to take proactive roles in the healing process.

Surviving Displacement

Human Cargo was organized by Malteser International, the worldwide relief agency of the Order of Malta that provides aid and support to internally dislocated people in Syria, as well as Syrian refugees all around the world. The project is located in Ahaus, a small town in western Germany. It was created by the refugees themselves, who methodically piled up wooden pallets used in the freight holds of cargo ships to form a large oval frame on the ground. Each person then placed handmade crosses and plaster tombstones in the center of the frame in honor of their lost loved ones.

Tales Of Terror And Trauma

A lot of these refugees recall being stacked like lumber on boats, five people stacked on top of one another so that the traffickers could make the most possible money. Each person paid between $1,700 and $4,500 for their spot on these boats — a sum commonly raised by up to 40 family members just to pay for a single person’s chance at asylum in Europe. Many others attempted to cross the sea in even smaller wooden boats and dinghies, praying and making phone calls in fear that they might never make it onto dry land.

When it comes to humanitarian crises like this one, the horror stories are endless. One group of men fled their homeland of Eritrea with their sisters. To save them from harm, the men told traffickers that the women were their wives. The traffickers saw through the ruse and retaliated by insisting that the men sleep with their “wives” to gain passage on the boats. When the men said no, the traffickers raped the women, several of whom discovered that they were pregnant when they arrived in Germany. Not long after learning the news, a few of these women committed suicide.

Hope Springs Eternal

Ines Ambaum, Human Cargo’s artistic director, explains that refugees “show different faces” depending on who they interact with and what they’re doing. Each screw they drilled into the project’s pallets brought back memories of their ghastly trip across the sea, but with each passing day they continue to speak and heal a little more. She notes: “When you think about the fact that the people who had to go through this are being attacked by xenophobes and chased through the streets in Germany — that’s like a second rape.”

Ambaum has high hopes going forward, citing the continually increased integration of Syrian refugees into German culture. She shared: “Ninety-eight percent of them are able to fully integrate! But no one’s reporting on that. It’s too positive for the press and doesn’t seem to match our country’s current mood. But it’s true. I see it every day.”

The post Human Cargo: Syrian Refugees Use Art to Ease Their Pain first appeared on Dornob.

As the perception of Syria changed over the years, Hafez’ art mirrored those changes. No longer did his work graphically reflect anger and frustration, but instead focused on the things that were lost. Today, he uses art to “creatively weep” for the demise of Syria’s architecture and historic customs, citing in particular the obliteration of a 1,200-year-old minaret and the demolition of structures previously regarded with Vatican-like respect. “I feel it’s my duty to be doing this work,” he says. “It’s not a privilege. It’s not a luxury. It’s a duty.”

Despite their abstract presentations, Hafez’ newer pieces exude remembrance of his home country. One sculpture showcases a tiny porcelain plate that Syrian neighbors commonly used to send each other food, while another works in some of the textiles worn by the county’s Jewish residents. Even the Greek and Roman elements that embellish certain works can be read as reminders of Syria’s diverse cultural influences.

Besides occasionally reading historical passages on the plight of his people, Hafez mostly prefers to stay anonymous at his exhibitions. Posing as just another face in the crowd, he roams around the venue, catching visitor comments here and there and snapping photos on his phone. He revealed in one interview: “I don’t want to speak. If I speak — if I open my mouth that I am a Muslim, Arab, Syrian immigrant — some of my audience would have already judged me three million ways, and they might close their ears or their hearts to my message. But I let the work speak on my behalf and I be a fly on the wall.”

For all that anonymity, Hafez’s success cannot be denied. In the past few months, his work has debuted to great reviews at a myriad of locations, including Rhode Island, Washington D.C., Maine, Connecticut, and the United Kingdom. His show at the Brooklyn Museum in New York is still on display, running until January 13th, 2019.

“Who wants to be known as [successful] on the corpse of his own nation and culture?” He asks rhetorically. “I would throw all of that in the garbage in a heartbeat and get three hours of our life back.”

Like many of his fellow displaced Syrians, Hafez finds it highly unlikely that he will be able to return to his homeland anytime soon — if ever. Even sadder is that as the dreams of going home slowly fade, they’re replaced by lingering memories full of love, life, and laughter. As he puts it: “You cannot format your heart and forget the past.”

The post Mohamad Hafez’s Art Commemorates Syria’s Magnificent History first appeared on Dornob.