The Antiquities Museum of Gaza, the region's only museum, and many of the objects inside it have been damaged in the recent war with Israel, reports the Art Newspaper.

Privately founded and run by Gazan contractor and collector Jawdat Khoudary, the museum suffered damage to its roof and walls as well the shattering of its glass doors and windows during the 22 days of Israeli strikes. Roman and Byzantine pottery, Islamic bronze objects, and many amphorae — clay and ceramic vessels created in Gaza during the fourth to seventh centuries — have been destroyed. The museum's conference hall was directly hit by shelling.

Damage is also expected at a number of major archaeological sites, including Tell es-Sakan, an early Bronze Age settlement; Tel el-Ajull, a middle and late Bronze period city; the remains of the Hellenist port Anthedon; the Byzantine church of Jabalya; and the Al-Zeitoun residential quarter in Gaza's Old City, a medieval historic district.

Despite being rich in historical sites, the region has not been widely excavated. Since 1994, seven major sites have been excavated by the Palestinian Antiquities Authority, but with the resurgence of the intifada in late 2000, activity stalled. Palestinian archaeologists have also faced chronic shortages of funding, staff, equipment, and conservation facilities.

Moain Sadeq, a Palestinian professor who founded the Palestinian Antiquities Department of Gaza in 1994, said that the next step will be to invite experts from abroad to come and help assess the situation in Gaza. Swiss archaeologists from the Museum of Art and History in Geneva have already volunteered. The work, however, will be slow, as humanitarian aid comes first.

"I am very concerned," said Sadeq. "The entire Gaza strip is an archaeological site."