UNESCO: Ancient city of Babylon damaged during US occupation
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Image via WikipediaSubstantial damage was caused to the ancient city of Babylon by a military base set up there after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to a UNESCO report released Thursday.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation said that Babylon now needs urgent renovation work.
The damage to the Mesopotamian city, considered one of the cradles of human civilization, was carried out by “digging, cutting, scraping and levelling”, when the military base was there from April 2003 to December 2004.
The Ishtar Gate and Processional Way were among key structures damaged, the UN agency said.
UNESCO quoted a 2005 British Museum report as saying that the US action was “tantamount to establishing a military camp around the Great Pyramid in Egypt or around Stonehenge in Britain”.
Babylon, used as a capital by two renowned kings of antiquity — Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) and Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC), who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, is located about 90 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad.
“The archaeological city was plundered during the war in 2003. Contents of the Nebuchadnezzar and Hammurabi museums and of the Babylon Library and Archive were stolen and destroyed,” said the report.
Babylon is now back under the control of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH).
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