Heritage under Siege: The Case of Gaza and a Mysterious Apollo

Abstract

In the summer of 2013, newspapers around the world reported the discovery in Gaza of a rare bronze statue of the Greek god Apollo. A few months after the discovery, the statue disappeared, and its exact location and state of preservation have been unknown ever since. In November 2017, at the very beginning of my doctoral research regarding the impact of organized crime on cultural heritage and archaeological research, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Gaza. The Apollo sculpture was the pretext that allowed me to visit many sites around Gaza City and to address several interlocutors about the protection of endangered heritage in the region. The aim of this article, which is based on my doctoral thesis, is to follow in the footsteps of my investigation into the fate of the Gaza Apollo and to provide some introductory elements about the history of heritage legislation in Gaza, the illicit trafficking situation in the region and of course to take stock of the hypotheses concerning the situation of this sculpture called the Apollo of Gaza.

Keywords:

• Gaza
• Apollo
• Illicit Trafficking
• Looting
• Palestinian Heritage

Acknowledgements

My thesis (and thus this article) would never have been possible without the support and advice of my supervisor, Cecilia D’Ercole. I would also like to thank Nashwa al Ramlawi, Jean-Baptiste Humbert, Dominique Pieri, Francis Prost, Thierry Lucas, and my thesis jury (Sophie Bouffier, Véronique Chankowski, Berardino Palumbo, Laurence Gillot, Michele Spanò).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 [accessed 3 July 2023]. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26275578

2 Glucker, 1987: 4 and 58. However, other authors like Pringle (1993: 208) propose other dates (635) to refer to the first military incursions into the Gaza region.

3 Glucker, 1987: 216. Glucker points out that there are no sources proving that a bishop sat in Gaza during the twelfth century and therefore the church in question was not automatically a cathedral. Moreover, the association with St. John the Baptist is said to be derived from later Muslim sources.

4 For the original version in Arabic, please consult the Palestinian Official Gazette. [accessed 3 July 2023]. Available at: http://muqtafi.birzeit.edu/en/pg/getleg.asp?id=17019

5 Today the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum is controlled by Israel and houses the headquarters of the IAA.

6 Among the researchers who studied this site we can mention Professor Louise Steel and her work on material culture in the Bronze Age.

7 Under the direction of the archaeologists Jean-Baptiste Humbert and Mohammad M. Sadeq.

8 For more information about French research in Gaza and particularly in Anthedon, see Humbert, 2019.

9 Humbert, 2021: 240. For more information on the destruction of the Anthedon site it is useful to consult this Forensic Architecture research. [accessed 3 July 2023]. Available at: https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/living-archaeology-in-gaza.

10 For more information, see Elter, 2022.

11 For an overview of the collections, see Chambon, 2012.

12 L’Apollon de Gaza, 2018, min. 40–41.

13 View of the head of the sculpture during the inspection of the Ministry of Antiquities. [accessed 3 July 2023]. Available at: https://www.rfi.fr/fr/moyen-orient/20140212-encombrante-statue-apollon-gaza-dieu-grec-antiquite.

14 I would like to thank Professor Francis Prost and Dr Thierry Lucas for their valuable help in writing this paragraph.

15 This person prefers to remain anonymous.

16 The guide is available at the following link: [accessed 3 July 2023]. Available at: https://www.mota.ps/uploads/daleel_mota_2022/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3DHXX8poOlP-6CO8tnia8_akBjUjXikAhHAo3rocgQQX_U9rhjAQbyPEA#p=1.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marino Ficco

Marino Ficco. After studying Archaeology (BA, MA) at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, in 2021, Ficco got a PhD in History at EHESS University. His doctoral thesis focuses on the notion of archaeomafia and the impact of organized crime on heritage and archaeological research. Since February, he has been working at the French School in Athens where he supports the coordination of the Horizon Europe ANCHISE project. His research focuses on looting, illicit trafficking of cultural heritage, public archaeology and the impact of colonialism on cultural heritage. Correspondence to: Dr Marino Ficco, PhD History and civilizations EHESS, Project Manager ANCHISE (Ecole française d’Athènes). Email: [email protected]