Some New Evidence Documenting the Involvement of Da’esh in Syria with the Illicit Trade in Antiquities

Abstract

We present here some new evidence documenting the involvement of Da’esh with the looting and illicit trade of antiquities in northeastern Syria. We have interviewed four people who have first-hand knowledge of its activities and acquired some images of looted objects and Da’esh administrative documents. We examine this new evidence in the context of previously reported accounts of Da’esh involvement with the antiquities trade. We also report looting at some previously unknown archaeological sites, describe extensive looting when northeastern Syria was controlled by the Free Syrian Army, and critically examine the reliability of prices reported inside Syria.