Yemeni researcher: Antique gold and jewelry on sale in jewelry exhibitions

Today, Thursday, the archaeology expert, Abdullah Mohsen, revealed that antique jewelry and ornaments are being displayed and sold in jewelry exhibitions in the capital, Sana’a, and other governorates, after being extracted illegally.

Mohsen confirmed in a post on his Facebook page that a group of ancient gold ornaments that were illegally extracted from temples and archaeological sites in Al-Jawf Governorate - where one of the oldest human civilizations was established - are being displayed and sold in Sana'a and other governorates through famous brokers.

He pointed out that the antique jewelry is sold to antiquities smugglers, and then smuggled through land and sea border crossings and airports abroad, noting that "the ease of hiding antique jewelry and ornaments in personal luggage makes it difficult to control and stop their smuggling, especially with the weak technical competence of customs officers at the crossings."

The expert Mohsen explained that recently, many cases of trading pictures of antique jewelry have been observed in the Salt Market, Old Sana'a, a number of gold sales exhibitions, Hazm Al-Jawf, Ataq (Shabwa), Aden, and Ibb.

“We were able to obtain photos of some of these collections, including a gold necklace consisting of 18 pieces, 9 of which are rolled gold sheets and a pendant... a gold amulet in the shape of a crescent with a Musnad inscription, and a large collection of pendants, earrings, rings and other items of gold, similar to Yemeni antique jewelry at auctions and in many museums,” he added.

He noted that most of the displayed images were smuggled abroad, and large quantities are still displayed in the markets, amid the chaos prevailing in archaeological sites and temples, and the near-total inability of official bodies.