Inside the exhibition charting 5000 years of history in Gaza

Gaza is both a battleground and a treasure trove. Under the Strip, layers of archaeological strata bear witness to a millennia of history. Each stratum preserves the remnants of civilizations that have risen and fallen: Canaanite, Philistine, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, and Ottoman. Just a few feet beneath the rubble, these layers preserve traces of those who came before. They record centuries of conquest, trade, and daily life.

In this region, archaeology is a science and a political weapon which Israel has used to justify the occupation and annexation of historical Palestine. This context has rendered excavation a struggle against erasure and a way to reclaim the land’s narrative.

 Trésors sauvés de Gaza — 5000 ans d’histoire – (Treasures Saved from Gaza- 5000 years of history)  is an exhibition organised by the Institut Du Monde Arabe in Paris, in collaboration with the Museum of Art and History of Geneva, the Palestinian National Authority, and supported by the Aliph Foundation. It started on the 3rd of April and will be running until the 3rd of November. The exposition brings together 130 archaeological masterpieces and rare artefacts from Franco-Palestinian excavations that began in 1995, along with pieces from private collections that are being displayed in France for the first time. 

The curation features Gaza’s rich and continuous history since the Bronze Age. A section is dedicated to cultural heritage under threat, with satellite data from UNESCO (as of March 25, 2024) that shows damage to 94 sites in Gaza: 12 religious, 61 historic or artistic buildings, 7 archaeological sites, 6 monuments, 3 storage facilities, and 1 museum. Archival photographs and recent archaeological finds complete the display. 

Confronted with the urgency of telling this story, the curator of the Institut du Monde Arabe, Elodie Bouffard, moved quickly. “There are many projects at the IMA focused on Palestine,” she says, “But we realised how little people actually know about Gaza. The Strip is often reduced to a single image: one of war and destruction. No one speaks of its depth, its history, its beauty. Everything is flattened. And so people ask: ‘Is there really any other solution than this?’”

She pauses, then pushes back against that fatalism. “For millennia, this land and its people have shown there were thousands of other solutions: some of which are very positive. This exhibition is a form of resistance against the storm that tries to erase everything: the story of a place, of a people. We chose to begin with what we know best: heritage.”

Fragments of pottery, mosaics, and ancient stone speak not just of vanished civilizations but of survival and defiance. Archaeologist René Elter, the scientific coordinator of the Intiqal project, made it clear: “We launched Intiqal because Gaza needed professional teams capable of protecting and bringing value to this magnificent heritage.” A joint effort between the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem and the NGO Première Urgence Internationale, the project trains young Gazans in archaeology and architecture and turns them into what Elter calls “a living, positive force in society.” Even after October 7th halted preventive excavations at the Roman cemetery of Harmorabin, he stressed, “Our team is still working, still on the ground. They are proud of their heritage and committed to preserving it.”

​​Intiqal’s work spans multiple sites. They have successfully preserved and showcased the Saint Hilarion Monastery, the Byzantine church of Mokhaitim in Jabalia, and carried out preventive archaeology at places like the Roman cemetery and the mosaic-rich site in El-Bureij.

I was interpelled by the term “preventive archaeology.” In conflict zones, our legitimate concern is human life first, but heritage, too, is at risk. Preventive archaeology focuses on identifying vulnerable sites before they are lost forever. However, this endeavour is ridden with logistical and financial challenges.

This is where foundations like ALIPH become crucial. The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas, was founded in 2017 by France and the UAE. It has supported over 500 projects across 42 countries, with a significant focus on the Middle East. Their efforts in Gaza and the West Bank alone have totaled $6.5 million since 2020. 

Sandra Bialystok, the director of Communications and Partnerships at ALIPH, told Dazed MENA that they “earmarked $1 million for cultural heritage protection in Gaza. $650,000 has already been spent to protect collections, stabilise, and document sites like the Al-Omari Mosque. We also run training projects for professionals in the region so they know how to go in and perform ‘cultural heritage first aid.” ALIPH relies on a robust network of local experts and has implemented a streamlined system to expedite project approvals on the ground and to respond swiftly to the region’s volatile tensions.

 As we walked through the exhibition and admired its rich curation, she told me with conviction: “Without cultural heritage, without objects, without artefacts and traditions and songs and recipes and buildings and historical sites, we lose the things that make us human. We need to preserve them, they are what give us resilience and purpose for the future.” 

​​The exhibition’s scenography was curated by Elias and Yousef Anastas, two Palestinian architects and brothers behind AAU Anastas, an architectural and research practice based between Bethlehem and Paris. Through their work, they explore the intersection of design, local craft, and structural innovation. The archaeological pieces are assembled on mobile aluminium carts to bring forth the logic of storage rather than traditional museum displays. They are kept together as they came from Gaza to avoid dispersion and spectacle. The intention of it seems not to fix history in place, but to speak instead of movement or imprint. 

Gaza, once an ancient Greek city, was home to many temples, including those dedicated to both Heracles and Aphrodite. Right at the start of the exhibition stands the statue of Aphrodite. Roughly thirty centimetres tall, it captures the goddess in a pose of quiet grace. One hand rests confidently on her hip, while the other gently supports a bust of Hermes. At her feet, beside her right, lie the small, delicate shoes of the infant Pan. 

Elodie Bouffard inserted herself into the cluster of journalists huddled around the statue, eyes swelled in tears and said: “Heracles represents the trilogy, the moon, and is the night before the awakening. It’s an image of resurrection, struggle, and awakening. It’s a beautiful symbol.”

This piece belongs to the Palestinian National Authority. It was given to them by a private collector, Jawdat Khoudary, who, since 1986, has fought against the trafficking of art and the destruction of heritage, often resulting from construction projects due to rapid urbanization.“These are people in tragic situations, and yet, they ‘entrust these works so they can be cared for.’ That speaks volumes about them,” said Bouffard.

There is something so magical about Aphrodite emerging from the sea, to get eventually caught in the net of a Gazan fisherman off the coast of Blakhiya. Palestinian fishermen’s navigation is restricted by Israel six nautical miles in the north and fifteen in the south, yet the Greek goddess came to him accompanied by Hermes, known as the messenger of the gods. One can’t help but think that this land clings to its people as fiercely as they cling to it. While this exhibition unveils ancient splendour, it decisively dismantles reductive and prejudiced ways of understanding and viewing Gaza, inviting viewers to rediscover Gaza beyond the one-inch headlines as a place of richness and humanity. It crystalizes Gaza’s standing, through archaeology, in our human history.