Well known antiquities scholar Khaled al-Asaad, known for his extensive knowledge of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, was killed by the Islamic State (or Isis as we know the group as) for refusing to lead the terrorist group to the location of the priceless and valuable artifacts. Asaad was beheaded and his mutilated body was hung from one of the ancient Roman columns and his body was left on display in the town square in front of a museum in the ancient city. It has been reported that he was killed in front of about a dozen people.
It is believed that the Islamic State has been looting ancient locations of their artifacts to then sell the items to fund their activities and eventually destroying the ancient sites all together. The group believed that destroying the artifacts is a way to destroy objects seen as "false idols".
Asaad, was was 82 years old at the time of his death, had worked as the head of antiquities in Palmyra for 50 years. Asaad had been detained for over a month and was later executed when he refused to cooperate. Asaad was well known in the antiquities community for his early work in the excavation of Palmyra as well as the restoration of key parts of the city. "He was a fixture, you can't write about Palmyra's history or anything to do with Palmytian work without mentioning Khaled Asaad... It's like you can't talk about Egyptology without talking about Howard Carter" said Amr al-Azm, the former Syrian antiquities official who worked closely with Asaad and knew him personally.
It is believed that the Islamic State has been looting ancient locations of their artifacts to then sell the items to fund their activities and eventually destroying the ancient sites all together. The group believed that destroying the artifacts is a way to destroy objects seen as "false idols".
Asaad, was was 82 years old at the time of his death, had worked as the head of antiquities in Palmyra for 50 years. Asaad had been detained for over a month and was later executed when he refused to cooperate. Asaad was well known in the antiquities community for his early work in the excavation of Palmyra as well as the restoration of key parts of the city. "He was a fixture, you can't write about Palmyra's history or anything to do with Palmytian work without mentioning Khaled Asaad... It's like you can't talk about Egyptology without talking about Howard Carter" said Amr al-Azm, the former Syrian antiquities official who worked closely with Asaad and knew him personally.
*edit*
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