Adnan Almohamad
Academic Mentor: Brian Boyd, Senior Lecturer and Director of Museum Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University
Research Topic:
The impact of internal displacement on archaeological sites in northwestern Syria during the war
Adnan Almohamad currently holds Honorary Research Fellowships in the Department of History, Classics, and Archaeology at Birkbeck College, University of London, and the Department of Archaeology at Durham University. Additionally, he is a Cara Fellow (Syria Program). He is also currently the Arabic Translation Coordinator in the project of International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA). His master's degree in Archaeology of the Ancient Near East and Egypt was awarded by Charles de Gaulle University, France in 2008. From 2009 to 2010, he worked at Aleppo Museum, and from 2010 to 2014, he worked at the Department of Excavation and Archaeological Studies at the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria, during which he also lectured on ancient pottery in the Department of Archeology at the University of Aleppo. His research interests are in the area of the upper Euphrates of Syria, and the destruction and preservation of cultural heritage. His current work focuses on documenting the looting and destruction of archaeological sites in northern Syria and the relationships of local communities in Syria with their cultural heritage before and during the war.
Adnan's research at Columbia Global Centers | Amman examines the direct impact of displacement on archaeological sites in northwest Syria. He is examining the motives, reasons, and circumstances that prompted families to live in archaeological sites and what actions can be taken to solve this problem from the participant's point of view. The findings of this research will provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between displaced communities and Syrian tangible heritage, how these archaeological sites are viewed by displaced communities, and of the extent and nature of the damage caused by internal displacement to archaeological sites in northwest Syria.
Selected Publications:
Almohamad, Adnan “The Destruction and Looting Cultural Heritage Sites by ISIS in Syria: The Case of Manbij and its Countryside.” International Journal of Cultural Property. International Journal of Cultural Property, Volume 28, Issue 2, May 2021, pp. 221 – 260. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739121000114
Almohamad, Adnan “The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Syria: The Case of Shash Hamdan Tomb in the Upper Euphrates between 1995 -2020.” Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 1 February 2022; 10 (1): 49–73. https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.10.1.0049
Accepted for Publication:
“ISIS's impact on Syrian intangible cultural heritage: Marriage customs and rituals in the region of Manbij.” Contemporary Levant.
"Exploring reasons for divergent local communities’ responses to antiquities preservation during the conflict in the northwest of Syria" – 2014-2023. Journal of Social Archaeology
Under Review (selected):
“Jabhat al-Nusra’s Attitudes toward Tangible Heritage in Syria: The Disengagement from Al-Qaeda”, Journal of Conflict Archaeology. Under review.
“Understanding the form and timing of damage to archaeological sites during the Syrian conflict by combining evidence from remote sensing with ground observation” Antiquity. Under review.
“Syrian cultural heritage during conflict: From destruction to reconstruction and its impact on Syrian cultural identity: Case Study of Aleppo” International Journal of Architectural Heritage. Under review.