{"id":17223,"date":"2026-07-27T12:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T12:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/who-protects-lebanon-memory-museums-war\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T12:04:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T12:04:53","slug":"who-protects-lebanon-memory-museums-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/who-protects-lebanon-memory-museums-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Protects Lebanon’s Memory?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Museums in a time of war<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wars do not threaten lives and buildings only, but also threaten the memory stored by places, artifacts, and documents. In Lebanon, this challenge renews itself with every war or disaster. From the National Museum<\/a>, which found itself during the civil war on a direct line of contact between the parties to the conflict, to the Sursock Museum<\/a>, where the 2020 Beirut port explosion once again raised the issue of protecting artistic holdings and archives, all the way to the recent Israeli war on Lebanon, where fear returned for archaeological sites, heritage buildings, and the material memory of Lebanese villages and towns. Successive experiences reveal that the museum itself may become a threatened space. The danger does not affect the buildings alone, but the pieces, documents, and records that preserve part of the country’s material and visual history. As risks escalate, a fundamental question arises: are the walls of museums enough to protect heritage, or does protecting memory require something far beyond that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maurice Chehab and the rescue of memory<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the National Museum<\/a>, the task during the civil war was not only to protect the building, but to protect the thousands of artifacts that represent the country’s archaeological memory. When  the civil war broke out in 1975, Emir Maurice Chehab<\/a>, the Director General of Antiquities at the time, took on an unprecedented mission of protecting the holdings of the National Museum from destruction and looting. Chehab had devoted his life to Lebanese antiquities, and had contributed since 1928 to the establishment of the National Museum, before he took over the head of the Antiquities Service in 1944, then the General Directorate of Antiquities in 1960.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the face of the danger of war, Chehab took a series of exceptional measures to protect the archaeological collections. The small pieces were moved to safer places inside the museum, while the huge pieces, such as the statues, sarcophagi, and mosaics, were wrapped in layers of cement and stone. Some of the halls were turned into something resembling protective fortresses. Thanks to these measures, a large proportion of the museum’s holdings survived, and reappeared before visitors after the war ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne-Marie Afeiche, the Director General and chairwoman of the board of the “Directorate General of Museums,” says that the National Museum takes on special importance because all the pieces displayed in it were discovered on Lebanese territory, and they tell Lebanon’s history across thousands of years. She points out that what Maurice Chehab did during the civil war constituted an early model for protecting heritage in times of conflict, as he realized that losing these pieces means losing a part of the country’s history that cannot be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \" The National Museum takes on special importance because all the pieces displayed in it were discovered on Lebanese territory \"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
She adds that destroyed buildings can be rebuilt, but archaeological pieces are unique by their very nature, and cannot be replaced or reproduced. For this reason, protecting the archaeological collections remained a priority during the various crises Lebanon has witnessed, from the July 2006 war all the way to the recent wars and attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
           A photo showing jewelry from a Roman tomb in the city of Baalbek<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
From cement to emergency plans<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the protection of heritage during the civil war relied, to a large extent, on individual initiatives and quick field measures, the approach adopted today has become more organized, and rests on advance planning and coordination between institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rowina Bou Harb, head of the archive department at the Sursock Museum<\/a>, explains that after the 2020 Beirut port explosion the museum developed an integrated emergency plan for dealing with wars and disasters. The explosion revealed the fragility of cultural institutions in the face of sudden events, and showed the need for clear, pre-defined response mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\" After the 2020 Beirut port explosion the museum developed an integrated emergency plan for dealing with wars and disasters \"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
She points out that the Sursock Museum is part of a network that includes cultural, archival, and academic institutions in Lebanon, which work on exchanging expertise and coordinating in the field of heritage protection. Among these institutions are the American University of Beirut, Saint Joseph University, the Biblioth\u00e8que Orientale, the Arab Image Foundation, and other archival centers that together form a framework for cooperation when crises occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the Beirut explosion, the museum cooperated with the “Biladi” association and experts from the international “Blue Shield” network, which specializes in protecting heritage in times of conflict and disaster. Bou Harb explains that the specialized teams helped in gathering the damaged pieces, assessing the damage, and determining what could be salvaged or restored. This later prompted the museum to develop a detailed emergency plan that defines priorities, responsibilities, and rapid-intervention mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This plan includes lists of contact numbers, procedures for protecting the building and holdings, and mechanisms for moving artworks and the archive to safer places when needed, in addition to preparing special emergency materials, such as storage boxes, packing materials, and sandbags used to protect some sensitive holdings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bou Harb notes that the plan is not limited to the physical holdings, but also includes the digital archive, backup copies, and electronic databases. She stresses that having a written and pre-tested plan is a fundamental element in any successful protection operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protecting heritage is a collective responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protecting heritage does not rely on museums alone, but on a broader network of official and specialized bodies. In some of the training exercises conducted after the Beirut explosion, the Lebanese Army took part alongside associations concerned with heritage, with the aim of simulating evacuation scenarios and protecting threatened holdings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bou Harb affirms that cooperation between institutions has become a necessity, because any museum or archive may find itself unable to confront a disaster on its own. For this reason, professional meetings, conferences, and seminars continue between museums and cultural institutions in Lebanon and abroad, to exchange expertise on preventive conservation, risk management, and rapid response during crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She adds that some institutions have also come to rely on digital conferences and virtual meetings to discuss shared challenges, and to share experiences related to emergency plans and conservation methods, which helps raise readiness at the level of the cultural sector as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
                A photo showing a stone throne of the goddess Astarte dating back to the Hellenistic era<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The importance of digitization in time of war<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite all the protection measures, the question remains about the limits of a museum’s ability to protect heritage in times of war. Direct shelling or large-scale destruction may lead to losses that cannot be made up for, no matter how high the levels of readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here the importance of documentation and digitization stands out as an additional line of defense. However, Ghada Dimashk, the expert in archival preservation, warns against treating digitization as a substitute for the physical artifact. In her opinion, no digital copy can compensate for the loss of an original archaeological piece, because this piece represents a unique material witness to a civilization or a particular historical stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
 \" Ghada Dimashk, the expert in archival preservation, warns against treating digitization as a substitute for the physical artifact \"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Dimashk sees that the value of digitization lies elsewhere. It preserves the evidence of the artifact’s existence, of its history, and of the destruction it was subjected to. For her, digital documentation does not save the piece itself if it is lost, but it preserves the record that proves its existence, and documents the attack that befell it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She considers that targeting archaeological sites, heritage buildings, and archives is not limited to destroying the stone or the document, but reaches the memory, the identity, and the historical narrative associated with the place. Therefore, documentation becomes a means of confronting what she describes as “archival violence,” that is, the attempts to erase the material evidence that proves the existence of communities and their history on the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She adds that photographs, documents, and digital copies constitute tools for proving what existed before the destruction, as well as documenting the scale of the loss that befell the heritage. In this sense, digitization does not replace the artifact, but it prevents its complete disappearance from collective memory and from the historical record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Successive Lebanese experiences reveal that protecting heritage is no longer limited to closing doors or reinforcing walls. Between the cement that Maurice Chehab used to rescue the holdings of the National Museum during the civil war, and the emergency plans, backup copies, and professional networks that museums rely on today, the tools of protection have evolved and their forms have multiplied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, the goal remains one: preserving the evidence that tells the story of this land and its people. When wars strike buildings, antiquities, and archives, what is targeted is not merely silent holdings, but the memory that links generations to their past, and the narrative that proves the presence of communities in the place. From here, protecting heritage appears to be more than a cultural task; it is a defense of people’s right to hold on to their history, their narrative, and their existence.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Museums in a time of war Wars do not threaten lives and buildings only, but also threaten the memory stored by places, artifacts, and documents. In Lebanon, this challenge renews itself with every war or disaster. From the National Museum, which found itself during the civil war on a direct line of contact between the parties to the conflict, to the Sursock Museum, where the 2020 Beirut port explosion once again raised the issue of protecting artistic holdings and archives, all the way to the recent Israeli war on Lebanon, where fear returned for archaeological sites, heritage buildings, and the material memory of Lebanese villages and towns. Successive experiences reveal that the museum itself may become a threatened space. The danger does not affect the buildings alone, but the pieces, documents, and records that preserve part of the country’s material and visual history. As risks escalate, a fundamental question arises: are the walls of museums enough to protect heritage, or does protecting memory require something far beyond that?  Maurice Chehab and the rescue of memory At the National Museum, the task during the civil war was not only to protect the building, but to protect the thousands of artifacts that represent the country’s archaeological memory. When  the civil war broke out in 1975, Emir Maurice Chehab, the Director General of Antiquities at the time, took on an unprecedented mission of protecting the holdings of the National Museum from destruction and looting. Chehab had devoted his life to Lebanese antiquities, and had contributed since 1928 to the establishment of the National Museum, before he took over the head of the Antiquities Service in 1944, then the General Directorate of Antiquities in 1960. In the face of the danger of war, Chehab took a series of exceptional measures to protect the archaeological collections. The small pieces were moved to safer places inside the museum, while the huge pieces, such as the statues, sarcophagi, and mosaics, were wrapped in layers of cement and stone. Some of the halls were turned into something resembling protective fortresses. Thanks to these measures, a large proportion of the museum’s holdings survived, and reappeared before visitors after the war ended. Anne-Marie Afeiche, the Director General and chairwoman of the board of the “Directorate General of Museums,” says that the National Museum takes on special importance because all the pieces displayed in it were discovered on Lebanese territory, and they tell Lebanon’s history across thousands of years. She points out that what Maurice Chehab did during the civil war constituted an early model for protecting heritage in times of conflict, as he realized that losing these pieces means losing a part of the country’s history that cannot be replaced. ” The National Museum takes on special importance because all the pieces displayed in it were discovered on Lebanese territory ” She adds that destroyed buildings can be rebuilt, but archaeological pieces are unique by their very nature, and cannot be replaced or reproduced. For this reason, protecting the archaeological collections remained a priority during the various crises Lebanon has witnessed, from the July 2006 war all the way to the recent wars and attacks. From cement to emergency plans If the protection of heritage during the civil war relied, to a large extent, on individual initiatives and quick field measures, the approach adopted today has become more organized, and rests on advance planning and coordination between institutions. Rowina Bou Harb, head of the archive department at the Sursock Museum, explains that after the 2020 Beirut port explosion the museum developed an integrated emergency plan for dealing with wars and disasters. The explosion revealed the fragility of cultural institutions in the face of sudden events, and showed the need for clear, pre-defined response mechanisms. ” After the 2020 Beirut port explosion the museum developed an integrated emergency plan for dealing with wars and disasters ” She points out that the Sursock Museum is part of a network that includes cultural, archival, and academic institutions in Lebanon, which work on exchanging expertise and coordinating in the field of heritage protection. Among these institutions are the American University of Beirut, Saint Joseph University, the Biblioth\u00e8que Orientale, the Arab Image Foundation, and other archival centers that together form a framework for cooperation when crises occur. After the Beirut explosion, the museum cooperated with the “Biladi” association and experts from the international “Blue Shield” network, which specializes in protecting heritage in times of conflict and disaster. Bou Harb explains that the specialized teams helped in gathering the damaged pieces, assessing the damage, and determining what could be salvaged or restored. This later prompted the museum to develop a detailed emergency plan that defines priorities, responsibilities, and rapid-intervention mechanisms. This plan includes lists of contact numbers, procedures for protecting the building and holdings, and mechanisms for moving artworks and the archive to safer places when needed, in addition to preparing special emergency materials, such as storage boxes, packing materials, and sandbags used to protect some sensitive holdings. Bou Harb notes that the plan is not limited to the physical holdings, but also includes the digital archive, backup copies, and electronic databases. She stresses that having a written and pre-tested plan is a fundamental element in any successful protection operation. Protecting heritage is a collective responsibility Protecting heritage does not rely on museums alone, but on a broader network of official and specialized bodies. In some of the training exercises conducted after the Beirut explosion, the Lebanese Army took part alongside associations concerned with heritage, with the aim of simulating evacuation scenarios and protecting threatened holdings. Bou Harb affirms that cooperation between institutions has become a necessity, because any museum or archive may find itself unable to confront a disaster on its own. For this reason, professional meetings, conferences, and seminars continue between museums and cultural institutions in Lebanon and abroad, to exchange expertise on preventive conservation, risk management, and rapid response during crises. She adds that some institutions have also come to rely on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":17160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[523],"tags":[422],"class_list":["post-17223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-silat_wassel-en"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1.jpg",2048,900,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1.jpg",2048,900,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1.jpg",2048,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1-300x132.jpg",300,132,true],"large":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1-1024x450.jpg",1024,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1-1536x675.jpg",1536,675,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10-07-1.jpg",2048,900,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"\u0632\u064a\u0646\u0628 \u0646\u0645\u0631","author_link":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/author\/zeinab-nemer\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Culture<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Museums in a time of war Wars do not threaten lives and buildings only, but also threaten the memory stored by places, artifacts, and documents. In Lebanon, this challenge renews itself with every war or disaster. From the National Museum, which found itself during the civil war on a direct line of contact between the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}