Statement in Support of the Protection of the Heritage of Tyre and Its Region
The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, expresses its support for the exceptional efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Culture and the Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanon to safeguard the archaeological and cultural heritage of Tyre and its region, particularly their work to identify and list seventy-nine heritage sites requiring special protection. These efforts provide an essential basis for monitoring, documentation, emergency response, and future safeguarding measures.
In this context, we also express our support for the urgent appeal issued by ICOMOS Lebanon and amplified by ICOMOS International concerning the protection of the heritage of Tyre and its region. We further acknowledge the wider concern expressed by UNESCO, ICOM, Europa Nostra, and other heritage organisations regarding the vulnerability of cultural heritage in Lebanon and the need for its protection.
As an institution with a long history of archaeological work in Lebanon, and with an active research project in Tyre, we are aware of the exceptional value and fragility of this heritage. We therefore join the call for urgent international attention and sustained support for the work led by the Ministry of Culture and the Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanon, together with Lebanese heritage professionals and local institutions, in line with the principles of international heritage protection, including the 1954 Hague Convention, its Second Protocol, and the World Heritage Convention. Within its capacities, the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology is ready to support practical measures undertaken under the authority of the Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanon.
The protection of Tyre, the city and its region, is not only a matter of archaeology. It is a matter of historical memory, scientific responsibility, and respect for the communities who live with this heritage, care for it, and transmit it.
We stand with the Ministry of Culture, the Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanon, ICOMOS Lebanon, Lebanese heritage institutions, and all those working to safeguard the heritage of Tyre and its region.
Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology
University of Warsaw