Syria: Palmyra – Palmyra Archeological Museum
The archaeological museum of Palmyra was one of the largest and most impressive museums in the world. When ISIL captured Palmyra in 2015, only a very small portion of the museum collection was evacuated to Damascus and the rest was brutally plundered or destroyed. ISIS deliberately defaced and trashed many of the statues, quite a lot was sold to various private illegal collections. In 2016, Syrian Army managed to liberate Palmyra for some time, before ISIL recaptured it again for another period, and then in 2017 Palmyra was finally cleared of terrorist. The museum now is not even Offaly open, the halls are empty with just a few leftover artifacts, destroyed and damaged walls and windows, and broken pieces of formerly priceless exhibits all over the place.
