Houthi War Puts Yemen’s Ancient Heritage at Risk

The Houthi offensive in Yemen has renewed fears that archaeological sites and museum collections could face more damage, looting and smuggling. The impact of the latest fighting on heritage remains unclear, but years of conflict and weakened institutions have left sites exposed to theft and illicit trade.

Damage to Sites and Museums

Mohammed Ali Thamer, director general of cultural statistics at the Sanaa-based Ministry of Culture, estimated that about 477 of the 2,318 archaeological sites documented in Yemen’s Archaeological Atlas in 2014 suffered total or partial destruction during the war. In research for the Sanaa Center, he documented 775 destructive operations affecting cultural sites between 2014 and 2025, using ministry records, statistical data and the Yemen Data Project.

The Old City of Sanaa faces growing risks. Its historic tower houses and intricate architecture make it one of Yemen’s best-known heritage sites. The Houthis control several important archaeological and historic locations, including the Old City, the historic town of Zabid and sites linked to the ancient Kingdom of Saba in Marib. Shibam, in Hadramawt, is another internationally recognized landmark.

Thamer identified 12 of Yemen’s 22 museums as looted or damaged. The Regional Museum in Dhamar, which held about 12,500 objects, was destroyed. Fighting and looting affected museums in Aden, Taiz, Al-Mukalla and Ataq, while museums in Ibb Governorate, including those at Al-Oud, Al-Mashneh, Dhafar and Jibla, suffered almost complete looting. Authorities confiscated much of the Military Museum’s collection in Sanaa.

Military Use and Ideological Concerns

Thamer’s research documented Houthi military use of archaeological locations. The militia seized the ancient city of Baraqish in August 2014. Houthi forces reportedly planted landmines around its outskirts before they withdrew in early April 2016.

Saleh Al-Baydani, president of the Anaween Center for Research and Transformation Studies in Aden, said renewed fighting could leave more heritage exposed to destruction, looting and smuggling. “Yemen has already lost a great deal of its archaeological heritage during the war,” he said.

Al-Baydani also described an ideological problem within the Houthi movement concerning Yemen’s pre-Islamic past. He cited published lectures by the movement’s founder, Hussein Al-Houthi, who criticized Yemenis for celebrating their Sabaean and Himyarite history. Al-Baydani said Al-Houthi dismissed Marib’s ancient monuments as little more than remains of columns and described the promotion of pre-Islamic civilizations as an attempt to draw Yemenis back to their pre-Islamic past.

In September, Mohammed Jumeh, Yemen’s permanent delegate to UNESCO, said the country’s heritage properties were “endangered due to the impact of war, which has caused extensive damage to cultural and historical landmarks across the country.” He also pointed to threats facing hundreds of other sites, particularly from looting.

Smuggling Networks and Missing Objects

No comprehensive national statistics on stolen artifacts were available, so investigators couldn’t determine precisely how many objects had disappeared or who profited. Estimates cited in Thamer’s research place the number of Yemeni artifacts held abroad at 10,000 to 14,000. Yemen’s antiquities authorities listed 8,000 objects they said were smuggled out during the war.

Al-Baydani said weakened state institutions and fragmented authority had reduced protection for archaeological sites and museums. Illicit trade, he said, often starts with illegal excavation or theft, then passes through local intermediaries and cross-border networks to dealers, auction houses, private collectors or other buyers abroad. Such networks may benefit from corruption, political influence or protection from armed actors operating within the wider war economy.

A 2024 report by a UN panel of experts described an investigation into information about an organized smuggling network allegedly backed by the Houthis. Al-Baydani warned that further fighting could put more Yemeni antiquities on international markets. Some objects, though, might stay hidden for years before reaching auction houses or private collections.

One separate case shows how hard it can be to protect and return objects during conflict. In 2023, the US State Department and Yemen’s embassy asked the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington to care for 77 ancient Yemeni artifacts seized in the United States. The objects were formally repatriated to the Yemeni government, but the museum still holds them under an arrangement allowing preservation and, in some cases, display.

Yemen’s archaeological surveys had stopped, foreign missions had departed, and the country lacked a coordinated system to protect sites and track missing objects. Thamer said Yemen needed a comprehensive register of damaged sites and antiquities smuggled and sold overseas to help investigators trace objects and support restitution claims.