The Daraa National Museum

The museum that gathers the archaeology of the Hauran plain, at the eastern entrance to Daraa where the Damascus and Bosra roads come in. Work on the building began in 1992 and ended in 2005. Before the war about 2000 objects were on display. No source was found on whether the museum is open today, whether the collection was moved during the war, or what state the building is in. The halls and objects described below reflect the pre-war arrangement.

The building

A basalt-clad building in the Hauran manner, with about 1900 square metres of floor space and a 5000 square metre garden. The ground floor has 4 exhibition halls arranged by period. The first floor holds 3 more halls, a lecture hall, a library and the Antiquities Directorate; the basement has storage and a conservation laboratory.

What was on show before the war

The display opened with the geology and geography of the Hauran. From there it moved through prehistory, the ancient Near East, the classical period (Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine), Islamic art, folk traditions and modern art. Highlights included:

• jars from the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC) and Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC)
• a Roman-period statue of a river god
• a statue of a local deity found at Inkhil, from the 2nd or 3rd century
• a coin of Philip the Arab (244-249)
• Roman glass vessels and a Middle Bronze Age battle axe
• Roman tombstones and carved stones from the village of Alma

Why it matters

This is the natural gathering point for finds from the mounds and Roman towns of the Hauran. The coin on display belongs to Philip the Arab, the Roman emperor born in what is now Shahba, so the emperor’s hometown lies within an hour of the museum. One of the best-known finds from the region, the gold earrings from Tell al-Ash’ari, is not here but in the National Museum of Damascus.

Before you go

The Daraa city page likewise notes that it could not be verified whether the museum is open. Visiting hours, the entry fee and which halls are open need to be checked locally or with the Antiquities Directorate. Since the museum is at the eastern entrance, it can be visited on the way in from Damascus or Bosra, before reaching the city centre.