I read today about the nutbags of ISIS blowing up the Tomb of Jonah. Arch had some comments about other destruction going on that I didn't know about.
Thinking it's worthy of it's own thread. Here we go:
The Archregimancy wrote:The Black Forrest wrote:Tomb of Jonah was blown up.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... t=20140725
Individuals concerned over what's happening to the archaeological heritage of Syria and Northern Iraq can consider contacting the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology [APSA].
While focused on Syria, the expansion of ISIS into a cross-border organisation means APSA is now concerned to some extent about relevant activity on both sides of the border.
The before and after photograph in the following spoilered image of the Roman city of Apamea gives a small idea of what's happening. The extensive pitting in the 'after' photograph doesn't consist of small pitting or war damage.Zooming closer, you can see that these are not small holes," Casana said. "Most measure 2 or 3 meters (7 to 10 feet) on the side, and many of them are bigger, suggesting that they're probably dug with the help of machinery."
http://www.livescience.com/42670-syrian ... ology.html
As an archaeologist who's currently living and working in the Middle East, it's obviously a topic of particular interest to me.
I would, however, recommend that detailed discussion of the threat to Syria and Iraq's archaeological heritage be taken to a different thread unless the topic of discussion is narrowly limited to the impact of conservative interpretations of Sharia Law on cultural/archaeological heritage - see also what the Saudis are doing to Mecca and Medina - particularly as regards the Wahhabist-inspired destruction of sites and shrines associated with prophets and historically important Muslims on the basis that they encourage idolatry (Latter link: "The situation is so bad that the Washington based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 percent of the millennium old buildings in the two cities have been destroyed in the past twenty years").
That's a more appropriate focus for the present thread.
Did you realise, for example, that the house of Khadijah - first wife of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), of course - has recently been torn down and replaced with... a block of public toilets. Now that's a great way for the Guardian of the Two Holy Mosques to send out a positive international message about both women and Islam's cultural heritage.
