Amrit, the city of the ancient Phoenicians, began to be excavated by archaeologists in Syria after the war. Saad Ali, Director of the Department of Archaeological Excavations of the Tartus Province, spoke about this.
The main attractions of the city of the ancient Phoenicians, the northern capital of the kingdom, are the statue of the god Melqart and the burial towers. According to legend, Amrit was visited by Alexander the Great.
“The very first excavations here began in the 50s of the last century. Then these towers and dozens of other burials were discovered. Since then, we have been organizing new excavations of Amrit almost every year, with the exception of the last war years, ”says Saad Ali.
Ali noted that Amrit was influenced by several cultures at once: Greek, Egyptian and Persian. This is typical of most of the Syrian territories with historical sites – the contrast between the buildings of the times of the Arab conquerors and Roman columns.
The guide of the National Museum of Tartus, Mudar Ibrahim, reported that a statue of the god Melkart was found inside the Amrit temple, on which there was an inscription with the name of the deity.
At the moment, the excavations of the city are being carried out by Russian and Syrian specialists. There is a possibility that further research will affect not only the land, but also the sea, since more than 150 objects were discovered under the water, which were of interest to scientists.
On April 19, it became known that the city of Tadmor, located in the south of Syria, is preparing to receive the first travelers. Before the war, Tadmor was considered the tourist center of the country.