About us
Since the start of the Syrian Civil War, foreign excavation teams and archaeologists vacated the country as sectarian violence unfolded. Since then much has been written about the depredations of the country’s heritage, especially the purposeful destruction and illegal sale of artefacts by groups such as Islamic State (IS).
IS' destructive campaign received widespread attention in the worldwide press, but the looting by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) fell largely to the wayside. Both Syrian and international archaeologists made efforts to document these crimes against humanity’s heritage, but for the international academic community their efforts were largely limited by their inability to travel to the region, relying mainly on documentation provided by the tremendous efforts of Syria’s own heritage professionals as well as remote sensing techniques and open-source intelligence (OSINT).
From Below is an independent field research project focussing on heritage in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). The Autonomous Administration pursues a unique approach to heritage which is in line with the thought of Democratic Confederalism, producing heritage policy from below based on equality and autonomy.
How this system works on the ground is not well understood outside of the region. The same goes for the current state of preservation of the heritage sites within the region, which haven’t been accessible to archaeologists outside of Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011. This project will be the first team to reenter the region for this purpose.
Our Team
The project is organised on an independent basis, in collaboration with archaeologists from Syria's North-Eastern regions. Building on several years of collaboration in documenting and publicising the efforts of the antiquities committees during the civil war, From Below is a collaborative project. By working together, we hope to elevate the public profile of the work.
Szymon Jazowski
is a researcher and activist with a BA in World Archaeology and currently pursuing an MA in Applied Archaeology at Leiden University. Since 2020, he’s been focused on the heritage politics of North-East Syria, the legacy of nationalist archaeologies, and approaching “history from below”. In March 2024, he co-organised the “Erasing Afrin’s History” forum in Leiden in collaboration with the Antiquities directorate of Afrin & Shehba.
is a recent MA archaeology graduate specialising in heritage, focusing specifically on heritage policies, both in the Netherlands and abroad. He wrote his thesis on heritage, religion and the state in Uzbekistan and has additional experience with heritage policy in the Netherlands. He is an avid and experienced traveler who is always looking to see more of the world.
is a member of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in North and East Syria. He holds a bachelor's degree in Archaeology and Museums from Damascus University. In 2015, he helped establish the Antiquities Directorate of Afrin & Shehba, which now operates in exile following Turkey's occupation. He continues his activities by publishing reports on violations against human heritage and informing the local community of the importance of this heritage.
Salah al-din Sino
Tim Odermatt
David Neurdenburg
is a Kashubian archaeologist with a BA in World Archaeology from Leiden University, and is currently an MA student in Applied Archaeology. His main research interests include gender archaeology and decolonial studies, which are his main areas of focus. He also worked in field archaeology in Poland to gain hands-on experience within the field.
