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The Lion of Al-lāt (
The statue was discovered in 1977 by a group of Polish archeologists from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw (PCMA UW) working under Prof. Michał Gawlikowski. The lion of Al-lāt was the basis for the PCMA UW logo design. The statue was
found in pieces, having been reused in antiquity for the temple's foundation. Subsequently, it was decided to reassemble the pieces in front of the entrance to the Palmyra Museum. The task was undertaken by restorer Józef Gazy. In 2005, it underwent restoration to eliminate problems from assemblage. Ultimately, the piece was restored in imitation of its original intended appearance – a relief jumping out from a wall. During the Syrian Civil War the statue was shielded with a metal plate and sandbags to protect it from fighting.
On 27 June 2015, it was severely damaged by the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
أسد اللات) is an ancient statue that adorned the Temple of Al-Lat
The Temple of Al-Lat ( ar, معبد اللات), was an ancient temple located in Palmyra, Syria dedicated to the goddess Al-Lat.
The temple was dedicated by the citizen Taimarsu of Palmyra in c. 123–164 A.D.Trombley, Hellenic Religion and Chr ...
in Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...
, Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. On 27 June 2015, it was severely damaged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
after it had captured Palmyra. The statue was removed to the National Museum of Damascus
The National Museum of Damascus ( ar, الْمَتْحَفُ الْوَطَنِيُّ بِدِمَشْقَ) is a museum in the heart of Damascus, Syria. As the country's national museum as well as its largest, this museum covers the entire range ...
and underwent reconstruction work, and now stands again.
Description
The statue, of a lion holding a crouching gazelle, was made fromlimestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
s in the early first century AD and measured in height, weighing 15 tonnes. The lion was regarded as the consort of Al-lāt. The gazelle symbolized Al-lāt's tender and loving traits, as bloodshed was not permitted under penalty of Al-lāt's retaliation. The lion's left paw had a partially damaged Palmyrene inscription (PAT 1122) which reads: ''tbrk ʾ'' 'lt''(Al-lāt will bless) ''mn dy lʾyšd'' (whoever will not shed) ''dm ʿl ḥgbʾ'' (blood in the sanctuary).
History
The statue was discovered in 1977 by a group of Polish archeologists from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw (PCMA UW) working under Prof. Michał Gawlikowski. The lion of Al-lāt was the basis for the PCMA UW logo design. The statue was
found in pieces, having been reused in antiquity for the temple's foundation. Subsequently, it was decided to reassemble the pieces in front of the entrance to the Palmyra Museum. The task was undertaken by restorer Józef Gazy. In 2005, it underwent restoration to eliminate problems from assemblage. Ultimately, the piece was restored in imitation of its original intended appearance – a relief jumping out from a wall. During the Syrian Civil War the statue was shielded with a metal plate and sandbags to protect it from fighting.
On 27 June 2015, it was severely damaged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
after the capture of Palmyra. After the liberation of Palmyra by the Syrian army, Syria's director-general of antiquities and museums Maamoun Abdulkarim declared that the pieces were still in place and it should be possible to reconstruct. The statue was moved to Damascus in 2016, where it underwent complete restoration. On 1 October 2017, it was fully restored, and is currently on display in the National Museum of Damascus
The National Museum of Damascus ( ar, الْمَتْحَفُ الْوَطَنِيُّ بِدِمَشْقَ) is a museum in the heart of Damascus, Syria. As the country's national museum as well as its largest, this museum covers the entire range ...
, until safety is assured in Palmyra to move it there again.
See also
*Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
Deliberate destruction and theft of cultural heritage has been conducted by the Islamic State since 2014 in Iraq, Syria, and to a lesser extent in Libya. The destruction targets various places of worship under ISIL control and ancient historical ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lion of Al-lat 1st-century Roman sculptures Sculptures of lions 1st-century artifacts 1977 archaeological discoveries Buildings and structures in Palmyra Buildings and structures destroyed by ISIL Limestone statues Religious sculptures Al-Lat Mythological lions