As war destroys Yemen's present, museums struggle to preserve its past

Museum staffers walk at the yard of the National Museum in Sanaa, Yemen June 2, 2021. Picture taken June 2, 2021. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

SANAA (Reuters) - A bronze statue of the main god of the kingdom of Saba, located in what is now the Yemeni province of Marib, lies in a dark and fortified room of the Sanaa National Museum.

The piece was made by a man named Hawtar Athat in the first half of the sixth century BC. It has been lucky enough to survive the latest war in Yemen. Many other artefacts have not.