Above: A walnut tree stripped of its branches stands in the rubble of the Kalat al-Numan citadel, originally built during the Roman era some 2,000 years ago. (John Cantlie/AFP/Getty Images)
“Syria’s ancient sites were already damaged by war. Now they’re being looted.” The Washington Post, 12/21/14.
And a link from the above article to satellite images of Syria’s World Heritage sites:
“War has damaged all but one of Syria’s World Heritage Sites, satellite images show.” The Washington Post, 9/24/14.
And a link to UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list.
This is incredibly sad. But to be honest they are not the only ones to destroy art. For generations nations have stripped bronze and gold off precious altar pieces and statues for war and money. It seems to just show more about the human race then anything. We as humans should be celebrating and appreciating the beauty and nostalgia of works not destroying them for our own gain. If we took the time to analyze the work maybe we would learn what and how to stop what humans keep repeating.
Seeing the remains of what is art and has been on this world and preserved for years is very disappointing. The thought of humans destroying what is a means of life and monument to some people is very disturbing and unruly. I don’t understand why one cannot respect the history that is displayed through this beautiful art and shaped this wonderful world into what it is today. These pieces of art should be more well protected, starting with the society pitching in to help the government protect these places.
Stolen art has been a problem for thousands of years, so this is not a new problem. Both Syria and Iraq hold the remains of ancient civilizations. Assad’s bombings along with ISIS’s destruction has led to many of these sites to be destroyed and opened up for looting. This is sad not only for the Islamic communities, but also for the Jewish, Christian, and pre-Abrahamic religions. Thousands of tablets have been looted containing texts from all of the mentioned religions. This is extremely dangerous not only because it funds crime, but forgetting about our history and heritage is losing a part of the human experience.
It’s extremely sad to see that people continue to steal art and cause destruction to art. It may not be a new problem, but it’s a problem that could erase human history forever. What makes it more saddening is that ISIS is destroying not only religious items that means so much to other religious groups, but also a culture that we may now never get to understand as it is left in ruins. In an ideal world, art would be preserved, cherished, and studied but it’s heartbreaking to know that not everyone understands this and rather destroy history and sell it for their own personal gain.
I think it’s extremely sad that old sites filled with such artistic and cultural history are being looted and destroyed. Hopefully archaeologists can manage to salvage some of these artifacts and preserve their history. It’s sad to hear about these pieces being sold for solely material gain when they could be studied and displayed for public gain in some sort of museum, or conserved and studied in private.