Museum of Lost Objects

The story of one neighbourhood in Aleppo, and how it changed the lives of two Syrians caught up in the war.

Zahed Tajeddin is a sculptor and archaeologist whose family have lived in Aleppo for generations. He owned a beautiful medieval courtyard house in a neighbourhood called Judaydah, part of the city's historic centre. But Zahed was forced to abandon his house in 2012, when Judaydah became a battleground between government forces and rebel fighters. He makes the emotional and dangerous journey to see whether his home survived the conflict.

Abu Ahmed is a pharmacist who set up Judaydah's only medical centre. He stayed in Aleppo throughout the conflict, giving first aid, medicines and comfort to the local residents. He was one of the last people to flee rebel-held Aleppo after the government advance in December 2016.

Presented by Kanishk Tharoor

With thanks to Elyse Semerdjian, Mustafa Abu Sneineh, Mehdi Musawi, Dr Hatem and Emily Webb.

Image: A courtyard house in Judaydah. Credit: Getty Images.

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The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

This is the oldest and smallest object in the series: a tiny Sumerian cylinder seal depicting a harvest festival. It was carved in 2,600 BC and was part of the collection of ancient cylinder seals which disappeared when the Iraq Museum in Baghdad was looted during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. We tell the story of this seal and the pillaging of the country's most important museum.

This episode was first broadcast on 11 March, 2016.

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Lamia al-Gailani, SOAS; Mazin Safar, son of Iraqi archaeologist Fuad Safar; John Curtis, Iran Heritage Foundation

With thanks to Augusta McMahon of Cambridge University, Mark Altaweel of the Institute of Archaeology UCL, and Sarah Collins of the British Museum

Picture: Sumerian harvest seal

The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

The Armenian martyr's memorial in Der Zor, Syria was a tribute to the Armenians who perished in the mass killings of 1915. It was consecrated in 1991 and then completely destroyed in 2014 by Islamic militants. A British-Armenian writer recalls her visits to Der Zor, and traces the harrowing journey of her ancestors through the Syrian desert.

This episode was first broadcast on 10 March, 2016.

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Nouritza Matossian, writer; Heghnar Watenpaugh, University of California Davis

With thanks to Elyse Semerdjian of Whitman College

Picture: Armenian Martyr's Memorial, Der Zor

The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

The ancient Assyrians were fond of protective spirits. They had sculptures of all manner of mythological creatures lining the walls of their palaces. One such sculpture was a stone relief of a genie. This was a powerful male figure - a bountiful beard and muscular thighs but with huge wings sprouting from his back. Three thousand years ago, it adorned the walls of Nimrud, one of the great strongholds of Mesopotamia, near Mosul in modern day Iraq. During the 1990s, this genie disappeared - believed to have been taken during the chaos of the first Gulf war - and ended up in London around 2002 - just before the mire of the second Gulf war. It’s been kept by Scotland Yard for these last 14 years - locked in legal limbo, and unlikely to ever reemerge or return to Iraq. We explore the cost of looting to a country’s cultural heritage, and tell the story of another valuable Mesopotamian antiquity that was looted, eventually uncovered, but managed to stay in Iraq. This is a tablet, and holds a new chapter from the oldest tale ever told - the Gilgamesh epic.

This episode was first broadcast on 9 March, 2016.

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Picture: Assyrian winged-genie from Nimrud

Contributors: Mark Altaweel, Institute of Archaeology UCL; Augusta McMahon, University of Cambridge; Mina al-Lami, BBC Monitoring; the readings are by Martin Worthington, George Watkins, and Susan Jameson

With thanks to Vernon Rapley, V&A; Sarah Collins, British Museum; Andrew George, SOAS; and John Russell Massachusetts College of Art and Design

The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

In 2013, Islamic militants decapitated the statue of an 11th Century Arabic poet that stood in his hometown of Maarat al-Nu’man, a city that’s seen heavy fighting during the Syrian conflict. The poet al-Ma’arri was one of the most revered in Syria, and poetry enthusiasts tell his story – he was blind, vegetarian, atheist, and some even claim that his work inspired Dante’s Divine Comedy.

This episode was first broadcast on 8 March, 2016.

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Contributors: Nasser Rabbat, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mahmoud al-Sheikh, BBC Arabic; the reading is by Susan Jameson

Picture: Statue of al-Ma'arri with the sculptor Fathi Mohammed in the 1940s, and the statue after its decapitation in 2013

The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

This monastery in the remote Syrian town of Qaryatayn held the 1,000 year old tomb of a saint, Mar Elian, who was revered by Christians and Muslims alike. After the Islamic State group took Palmyra, they came to the monastery of Mar Elian, kidnapped its priest and later bulldozed the site. A British archaeologist who lived and worked there for many years tells the legends of Mar Elian and her close relationship with the community.

This episode was first broadcast on 7 March, 2016.

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Picture: Doorway to Mar Elian

Contributors: Emma Loosley, University of Exeter; Father Jacques Murad, formerly priest at Mar Elian

With thanks to Shadi Atalla

The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

The Lion of al-Lat was a protective spirit, the consort of a Mesopotamian goddess. This 2,000 year old statue was one of the first things the so-called Islamic State destroyed when they took Palmyra in 2015. The Polish archaeologist Michal Gawlikowski recalls discovering the lion during an excavation in the 1970s, and we explore the wider symbolism of lions and power and how this was appropriated by modern rulers including Bashar al-Assad’s own ancestors.

This episode was first broadcast on 4 March, 2016.

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Picture: Lion of al-Lat

Contributors: Michal Gawlikowski, Warsaw University; Zahed Tajeddin, artist and archaeologist; Augusta McMahon, University of Cambridge; Lamia al-Gailani, SOAS

With thanks to Sarah Collins of the British Museum

The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

Since 2012, Aleppo - Syria's largest city - has been a key battleground in the conflict, and hundreds of its residents killed or displaced. Aleppo, thought to be the oldest city in the world, is now left in ruins. One of the great monuments of the city was the minaret of the Umayyad Mosque (also known as the Great Mosque) which was toppled in April 2013. It's still unclear who was responsible - Syrian government forces and rebels blame each other. We tell the story of the minaret, a world heritage site that was connected to that other great Aleppo landmark, the souk.

This episode was first broadcast on 3 March, 2016

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Picture: Minaret of the Umayyad Mosque

Contributors: Nasser Rabbat, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Zahed Tajeddin, artist and archaeologist; Heghnar Watenpaugh, University of California Davis; Jalal Halabi, photographer; Will Wintercross, Daily Telegraph

With thanks to Haider Adnan of BBC Arabic, Elyse Semerdjian of Whitman College, and Aya Mhanna.

The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.

As archaeological sites go, Tell Qarqur isn’t the most glamorous, but this mound in Syria is unique. It’s in the Orontes Valley in the west of the country and it contains 10,000 years of continuous human occupation. It is a goldmine of information for studying the movements of long history in a single place. In 2011, Tell Qarqur was occupied by the Assad military and since then, the whole area - the province of Hama and neighbouring regions - has been on the frontline of the war and many local residents forced to flee. Jesse Casana, the archaeologist who ran the excavation at Tell Qarqur, talks about monitoring the destruction of his site from space using satellite archaeology, and the Syrian villagers who worked with him now living as refugees.

This episode was first broadcast on 2 March, 2016

Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor

Picture: Tell Qarqur