Perspective on Syria

The Islamic State's looting of important archaeological sites in Syria has been well-documented over the past year, with the damage caused to ancient cities like Palmyra causing anger and outrage around the world. Unfortunately, attempts to assess the damage caused to these sites and others like them has been limited due to the conflict and chaos that has existed in Syria over the past four years.

Jesse Casana, an associate professor of anthropology at Dartmouth, has found a way to get around that problem, using extensive archives of satellite imagery to examine nearly 1,300 archaeological sites in the country. What his research found was surprising – while it was clear that there had been significant looting in areas controlled by the Islamic State, looting may have been even more widespread in areas controlled by opposition forces or the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG).

Read the Washington Post article.

Listen to the story on NPR.