Satellite imagery has revealed extensive looting and systematic bulldozing at Syria’s archaeological sites, including locations of major Hellenistic and Greco-Roman significance, in the years following the country’s civil war.
A new study by researchers at Dartmouth College found that 59 per cent of 200 archaeological sites examined between 2015 and 2025 had suffered looting or damage, a dramatic increase from the 13 per cent recorded between 2011 and 2016.
The findings, published in the journal Heritage, show that many sites were not only looted but also systematically bulldozed, particularly in areas occupied by Turkish-backed military forces.
Among the most significant sites affected are Palmyra, the ancient city of Apamea, and Mari. Apamea, founded by Seleucus I Nicator—the Macedonian general of Alexander the Great who established the Seleucid Empire—was one of the great Hellenistic cities of ancient Syria and is renowned for its monumental colonnaded avenue stretching nearly two kilometres.
Researchers used satellite imagery from Google Earth and the European Space Agency’s Pleiades programme to analyse damage across the country. The destruction was categorised into four types: traditional looting, mechanised looting using bulldozers, militarisation of archaeological sites, and construction of temporary settlements or encampments.
Lead author Professor Jesse Casana described the findings as deeply troubling.
“The mechanised looting in Syria and its association with military activities is really disconcerting,” Casana said. “The military is supposed to protect the people, not destroy archaeological sites, which is a war crime.”
Archaeological mounds, known as tells, are often targeted because they occupy elevated ground. Created by thousands of years of continuous human habitation, these sites contain valuable architectural remains and artefacts from multiple ancient civilisations.
One of the most alarming examples is Ain Dara in north-western Syria, home to an Iron Age temple famous for its giant lion sculptures. Satellite imagery revealed that while the site showed no war-related damage in 2014, military construction appeared by 2016. By 2019, extensive bulldozing was evident, and by 2022 nearly the entire surface of the site had been mechanically excavated.
Researchers say the damage threatens not only Syria’s cultural heritage but also humanity’s understanding of the ancient world, including the Hellenistic period that followed the conquests of Alexander the Great and shaped much of the eastern Mediterranean.
The study’s authors are calling for comprehensive archaeological assessments before excavation and restoration efforts begin. They say satellite imagery now provides an important roadmap for prioritising the preservation of Syria’s remaining ancient treasures.
Jesse Casana et al, Remote Sensing-Based Analysis of Archaeological Site Damage in Syria: Revisiting a Post-War Landscape, Heritage (2026). DOI: 10.3390/heritage9060209