This document contains information on thousands of artifacts plundered from the Republic of Yemen in recent years amid fighting with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Houthi militias. The government fears these are “blood antiquities”—looted and trafficked to finance the country’s deadly war—and warns they may have already been sold to unsuspecting buyers overseas. Yemen needs the public’s help to help recover these missing objects through a 24-hour hotline, which can be reached at +1 (202) 717-1066 or antiquities_hotline@yemenembassy.org. The Yemeni people and their cultural heritage have long been under attack from armed conflict and violent extremism. In recent years, reports have increased that AQAP and Houthi insurgents are following in the footsteps of Daesh (ISIS), by arming their cause through an illicit trade in ancient art. This cultural racketeering threatens to prolong the country’s civil war, currently the worst humanitarian conflict in the world, and could even help to fund terrorist attacks far beyond its borders. The Republic of Yemen is actively calling on the international community to take action, recognizing the nation’s arts and culture are the foundation on which it will one day rebuild. This dossier is a start. It provides a glimpse of what Yemen has lost—but also what may still be recovered. In these pages, painstakingly compiled by Yemeni archaeologists and government officials, you will find information on pieces pillaged from three major museums: Aden National Museum, Taiz National Museum, and the National Museum of Zinjibar. These objects span centuries and civilizations, from Roman coins to Sabaean inscriptions, marble statuettes, bronze figures, and sacred manuscripts. Dimensions and photographs are provided when available. The Republic of Yemen distributed the original Arabic version of this file in May 2018 to the United Nations and the United States government. We hope this translation will make it more widely available. Please help us in identifying these antiquities and bringing them home. Again to report any of these—or other—missing artifacts, please immediately contact the Embassy of Yemen at +1 (202) 717-1066 or antiquities_hotline@yemenembassy.org.
www.TheAntiquitiesCoalition.org