NATIONAL MUSEUM

The Aleppo Museum is devoted mainly to the archaeology of Syria, from the Neolithic to the Byzantine. Without being as rich as Damascus, he deserves a careful visit. Prior to the window, basalt statues are elements (replica) of the door of the Aramaic temple of Tell Halaf (th century BC). In the large entrance, the exposed objects date back to the prehistoric period.

The first large hall on the right shows the discoveries of Tell Brak (pottery, frise of the temple in the Eyes, tablets, figurines, jewelry). Then comes the Mari room, one of the most spectacular: mussels, statuettes with kaunakès, bronze lion, jewels, king Lamgi-Mari statuette and the famous goddess in from vase, found in the palace of the Second millennium (the horns symbolize his divinity).

The next room contains objects from Hama (ivory cup with gazelle, pottery, figurines). From the Salle d'Ugarit, the next one is the gold bowl and the jewelry.

Three sections occupy the space that runs along the back of the building. Tell Halaf Hall, impressive for its monumental sculptures. That of the couple of deities was certainly in a place of sacrifice. The cavity in front of them is intended to receive the blood. The rooms of Arslan Tash (the Aramaic site, the first millennium) and Tell Ahmar follow suit. In the first, a fabulous collection of ivories and in the second, Assyrian stelas and paintings. Tell Ahmar, the capital of principauté principality, bent under the Assyrian power in the th century. The gallery on the third side of the building houses discoveries from various sites. From Ebla (Tell Mardiq), the ritual basin and shelves are remarkable.

On the floor, the rooms are devoted to classical and Byzantine antiques (pottery, coins, cuites, lamps, bronzes, stelas, palmyréniens reliefs, glassware) and Islamic antiques (ayyoubides pottery and earthenware, pèlerin maquette, Aleppo model, currency). The last of them welcomes contemporary art.