Amid the death, despair, and destruction that mark today’s Syria, there's little good news for archaeologists and others who fear for the country’s remarkable cultural heritage. But in a windswept corner of the country, a dedicated group of local people is quietly protecting an important archaeological site, often at their own expense.

The high mound of Tell Mozan, which towers nearly 90 feet (27 meters) above the plain just three miles (5 kilometers) from the Turkish border in northern Syria, has so far escaped the looting, fighting, and religious extremism that have laid waste to so much of the region. The 2011 uprising against the Assad regime morphed into a fierce and protracted fight among competing factions.

“We were not expecting