
NEW YORK, NEW YORK—Syria's head of antiquities and museums first notified the world this past February that unlawful archaeological excavations were taking place in his war-torn country, specifically at sites such as Palmyra and Ebla. On Friday, Irina Bokova told journalists that the problem of illicit digs was getting worse. "This is our biggest concern nowadays," she said, "that we don't know what's happening there, this illicit trafficking (and) exports" of artifacts." Bokova added that her organization has informed U.N. peace-keeping officials, as well as leaders of the Arab League, that illegally excavated Syrian cultural heritage material has been found in Jordan.