Yemen conflict leads to heavy looting and smuggling of antiquities, Sanaa - 03 Jul 2024

A Houthi soldier patrols in the yard of the National Museum in Sana'a, Yemen, 03 July 2024. Over 90 stone, bronze and gold antiquities dating back to the fifth century BC and manuscripts dating back between the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries AD are currently on display in foreign museums and auction houses after being smuggled out of Yemen, according to a report by Yemen's Antiquities and Museums Authority. The war-ravaged Arab country has experienced heavy looting and smuggling of antiquities overseas due to the fragile security situation. Approximately 13 thousand antiquities were looted and smuggled out of Yemen between 1994 and 2022, the museum authority reported. Over 800 looted antiquities were turned over to the Sana'a-based National Museum after being recovered from local collectors and smugglers over the past 16 years. The objects, dating back to different time periods between BCE and the Islamic era, include funerary stelae, carved and inscribed stones, pieces of alabaster statues, metalworks and manuscripts collected from different archaeological sites throughout the history of ancient Yemen.