The Great Royal Palace of Mari
Syria - 5,000 years ago
Mari
Mari was a major Mesopotamian capital in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. An important centre for oriental archaeological research, it was recently affected by the crisis in Syria but archaeologists continue to study the site and publish their findings.
Fouilles du massif rouge de Mari
Mari is located on the Euphrates, near the current border between Syria and Iraq. Founded around 2,900 BCE, the city survived for approximately 1,200 years and was completely destroyed in 2,300 BCE and again in 1,759 BCE. Archaeologists have excavated around 8% the surface of the site, and have uncovered a royal palace, several temples, craftworking districts and houses. This city is also mentioned in historic sources, which attest to its important role in the trading and diplomatic networks of the time.
A major site for archaeological research
Outstanding archaeological and philological discoveries have been made at Mari, one of the most prolific sites in this field of research. They shed a powerful light on the conditions of urbanisation in Syria and the nature of the contact between the worlds of Sumeria-Akkadia (in Mesopotamia) and Syria (more inland to the west).
The site’s unique location and the conditions in which its remains have been conserved have made it a field school where French students and researchers are able to work with their counterparts in Syria and from Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, among other counties. Directed by André Parrot, Jean-Claude Margueron and Pascal Butterlin, the excavations continued until 2010.
The French archaeological mission of Mari and the Syrian crisis
The site was badly affected by the crisis in Syria. Since then, the mission in Mari has continued to study this outstanding site by publishing research on previous excavations, most analysed for the first time, and by using the priceless archives built up since 1933 and conserved by the archive service of the Maison Archéologie & Ethnologie, René-Ginouvès. The mission also monitors damage to the site by comparing remote detection data with its own archives, particularly satellite photographs taken of the site before the start of the war.
The French archaeological mission in Mari is supported by the French Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs on the advice of the Advisory Commission for Archaeological Research Abroad, and with the support of Labex Les passés dans le présent (ANR-11-LABX-0026-01).
The Mari collections at the Musée du Louvre
An extensive collection of artefacts from excavations in Mari are conserved by the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities at the Musée du Louvre, including statues of Ebih-Il, Idi-Ilum,and the “investiture" painting.
Combating the theft and illicit trafficking of cultural property is one of the priorities of the French Ministry of Culture, which pays close attention to these issues, in line with its regulatory responsibility to control the movement of cultural property.
