Libyan antiquities at risk from political instability, conflict
After years of neglect and looting, authorities in Libya are showing growing interest in protecting the country’s heritage and archaeological sites.
Aftershocks from the Libya conflict continue to reverberate through the country’s archaeological sector. Dozens of rare and unique artifacts are being smuggled abroad amid mounting warnings from officials and specialists of the demise of this sector, which was once a source of attraction for foreign tourists.
Despite the state of division that still hangs over Libya’s political scene in the absence of a unified central authority, efforts are being exerted to pull the Libyan antiquities back from the edge of disappearance.
On March 31, Tripoli-based authorities successfully recovered nine pieces of antiquities from the United States that were looted following the 2011 uprising that toppled late dictator Muammar Gadhafi.
More recently, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Government for Municipal Affairs of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, Mustafa Ahmed Salem, met June 22 with the head of the museums department at the Antiquities Department, Faraj al-Talawi, to discuss the government’s plan to restore and maintain archaeological sites that had been vandalized and neglected during the years of conflict.
