Archinect - News

Over 100 Gaza heritage sites damaged or destroyed by Israeli strikes, report says

2023-12-05T13:30:00-05:00

The Spanish NGO Heritage for Peace has published a report on the impact of recent Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s cultural heritage. The report, released on November 7th, claims that over 100 cultural heritage landmarks have been damaged or destroyed as of publishing. Reports of subsequent damage since November 7th are not yet available.

The Heritage for Peace report lists 104 pieces of built heritage impacted by the latest war, of which 4 have been completely destroyed, 11 have been partially destroyed by direct shelling, and 89 have been partially destroyed by indirect shelling. The list of sites spans mosques, churches, archaeological sites, historical houses, shrines, cemeteries, and museums.

Among the sites completely destroyed by direct shelling is the Omari Mosque, described by NPR as “one of the most important and ancient mosques in historical Palestine.” Meanwhile, the Church of Saint Porphyrius was partially destroyed, described by NPR as “the third oldest church in the entir...

Moroccan heritage sites severely impacted by recent earthquake

2023-09-12T17:28:00-04:00

Several Unesco World Heritage sites have been severely damaged by the recent earthquake in Morocco. [...] As the death toll climbs, so too will revelations of damaged heritage sites, as Morocco’s fragile patrimony—especially in less accessible rural areas—bears the brunt of the earthquake alongside the nation.

Following the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco's Marrakesh–Safi region on September 8, the assessment of devastation — both human and cultural — continues.

As The Art Newspaper reports, several significant heritage sites have been severely damaged or almost entirely destroyed, including the 12th-century Great Mosque of Tinmal as well as Marrakesh's historic Kharbouch and Kutubiyya mosques.

Authorities have confirmed over 2,900 deaths, with thousands more injured and without shelter.

Ukraine has lost almost 500 churches and religious sites since the start of the Russian invasion

2023-02-25T08:00:00-05:00

As a result of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least 494 religious buildings, theological institutions, and sacred places were wholly destroyed, damaged, or looted by the Russian military. The Ukrainian Institute for Religious Freedom presented this updated data on the impact of the war on Ukrainian religious communities on January 31 and February 1 during the Summit on International Religious Freedom (IRF Summit 2023) held in Washington, D.C.

The Institute for Religious Freedom reported Russia’s tactic of using churches for military bases and hiding spots. Clergy members have also been targeted as part of the longer-term goal of destroying the Ukrainian language and culture. (The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which accounts for 48% of the survey, famously broke away from Moscow in a May 2022 declaration.)

Graphic courtesy Institute for Religious Freedom (source)

Non-Christian sites afflicted include the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial (which includes a synagogue designed by Manuel Herz) and several mosques. The destruction of holy buildings and other cultural property nevertheless pales in comparison to the waste of life on both sides of the conflict. The latest estimates from the UN human rights office have at least 8,006 civilian deaths in the country over the past twelve months, with the actual death toll of non-combatants likely much higher.

UNESCO releases a new list of damaged cultural sites across Ukraine

2022-06-08T18:26:00-04:00

The UN’s official cultural body UNESCO has issued a new report documenting damage to an alarming amount of historic sites, monuments, and structures since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s criminal invasion of Ukraine began in late February.

The organization has verified that 139 sites have suffered damage since that time, a combined total of 62 religious sites, 12 museums, 26 historic buildings, 17 cultural buildings, 15 monuments, and 7 libraries, including the Babyn Yar Holocaust remembrance site in Kyiv, which have come under Russian bombs and artillery shells as the conflict shifts from a three-pronged invasion to a more targeted offensive focused in the eastern Donbas region.

Somewhat remarkably, none of the country’s sites listed on the organization’s official log of protected cultural property have been impacted or targeted by Russian shelling, the latter act being...

Afghan cultural officials fear worst is yet to come for historic monuments as Taliban resume power in Afghanistan

2021-08-18T17:32:00-04:00

Do leopards change their spots? One only has to look at the command structure of the Taliban and their supporters to feel that there won’t be much of a change from 2001—and it might well be worse. [...] Much of the archaeological landscape has simply gone. Many of the Buddhist monuments were dynamited in 2001, partly in search of portable antiquities to loot.

Some of Afghanistan's museums had reportedly begun preparations months ago, others are at a loss as fear and paranoia grips what remains of civil society after a 20-year occupation. The city of Herat poses a special risk as its educational heritage and historic citadel have led some to the comparison of the ancient Vietnamese imperial city of Hue that was destroyed during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Several Afghan artists have already shuttered their studios preemptively in fear of the Taliban’s wrath. The Art Newspaper has more on museum responses and their potential cultural impacts here.

Rebuilding Mosul

2020-06-16T15:18:00-04:00

After a five-week lockdown, several conservation projects have begun in earnest in Mosul as part of a Unesco programme aimed at restoring the rich heritage of the war-ravaged Iraqi city’s old quarter. Restoration work funded by Germany has begun on the Al-Aghawat mosque, houses are being refurbished with the aid of the European Union, and the rehabilitation of the Dominican Al-Saa’a church is under way with funding from the United Arab Emirates.

Rebuilding efforts are underway in Mosul, Iraq as part of UNESCO's Revive the Spirit of Mosul initiative launched in February 2018.

The program aims to reconstruct not only the heavily war-damaged Old City but also foster social reconciliation and trust in the local population after years under brutal ISIS rule through skill development and education.

How our demand for sand fuels a violent global black market

2019-11-20T16:22:00-05:00

The demand for that material is so intense that around the world, riverbeds and beaches are being stripped bare, and farmlands and forests torn up to get at the precious grains. And in a growing number of countries, criminal gangs have moved in to the trade, spawning an often lethal black market in sand.

Writing for BBC Future, Vince Beiser explains how sand — a very specific kind of sand — has become the second most consumed natural resource on the planet, fueling global environmental destruction, criminal enterprises, and even "sand wars."

"The demand for that material is so intense that around the world, riverbeds and beaches are being stripped bare, and farmlands and forests torn up to get at the precious grains," Beiser writes. "And in a growing number of countries, criminal gangs have moved in to the trade, spawning an often lethal black market in sand."

Yemen’s “Manhattan on the desert” faces uncertain future amid civil war

2019-10-19T19:45:00-04:00

A result of Yemen’s complex civil war – now in its fifth year – many of the country’s wonders have been damaged or are under threat. While the destruction pales in comparison to the human cost of the conflict, the country’s rich cultural heritage has also been ravaged.

Writing in The Guardian, author Bethan McKernan describes the ways in which Yemen’s ancient cultural heritage has been put at risk by the country’s tragic civil war. Sites that are under threat include the city of Shibam, a 1,700-year-old settlement built from a series of tall masonry structures in the desert.

McKernan writes, “The city’s 3,000 residents still largely follow the traditional living pattern, with in some cases up to 40 family members in the same tower. Animals and tools are kept on the ground floor and food is stored on the second. Elderly people live on the third and the fourth is used for entertaining. Higher levels are occupied by more nimble families, with childless newlyweds on the roof.”

The Nonument Group: digitally preserving architectural treasures before they're lost

2019-08-01T16:25:00-04:00

Working with an international team of researchers and artists, Tomšič and Bricelj Baraga study, map and archive fading sites and Brutalist-style structures. They’re building a database of about 120 case studies across Europe and in former Soviet states and will be releasing a book this year.

"Using a surveying and data-collection process known as photogrammetry and a series of high-powered computer workstations, a team led by Georgios Artopoulos will create a digital model of the monument for use with virtual reality headsets or smartphones," writes the Guardian's Nate Berg about the efforts of the Nonument Group to map and document the rapidly deteriorating and severely vandalized Monument House of the Bulgarian Communist Party (also known as the Buzludzha Monument) — one of many "hidden, abandoned, unwanted or otherwise forgotten" contemporary heritage sites the group aims to digitally preserve before they're gone forever.

The badly damaged interior of the Buzludzha Monument Auditorium. Photo: Stanislav Traykov/Wikimedia Commons

War-damaged Palmyra prepares to welcome back tourists by summer 2019

2018-08-28T13:54:00-04:00

The ancient city of Palmyra in Homs, Syria, which was severely damaged by the extremist group Isis, is set to have its artefacts restored and be ready for tourism next summer, Syrian government says. “The authorities now have a project to repair all the damage caused to Palmyra's Old City,” say the Homs' provincial governor Talal Barazi [...]. “There are also good offers from the world powers to restore the artefacts and historical value of Palmyra. [...]"

First seized and severely damaged by ISIS militants in the spring of 2015, then briefly retaken under Syrian government control, recaptured again in December 2016 and eventually freed four months later, the ancient architectural treasures of Palmyra, a Unesco World Heritage site, have suffered great destruction in recent years—called even a "war crime" and "blow against cultural heritage" by Unesco's director general Irina Bokova in 2017.

Preserving Iraq's Heritage: World Monuments Fund partners with Google for new online exhibitions

2018-06-06T16:10:00-04:00

Launched on the Google Arts & Culture platform today, the project includes drone footage of ancient sites and structures like the ziggurat in Borsippa and the Archway of Ctesiphon, 3D models of now lost architecture, like Babylon’s famous Ishtar Gate, and documentation of sites that have been damaged or destroyed by Isis, including Nimrud, Hatra and Mosul.

"Using drone footage, 3D models and videos, the tech giant is working with cultural institutions to make preservation efforts accessible to a larger public," The Art Newspaper reports.

View the Preserving Iraq's Heritage online exhibition here.

Syria Matters exhibition to document the destruction of country’s cultural heritage

2018-04-25T13:48:00-04:00

The destruction of Syria’s heritage over the past eight years is the subject of a significant show due to open at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha later this year. The exhibition, entitled Syria Matters (opens 23 November), aims to explore the country’s centuries-old “extraordinary cultural heritage” against the backdrop of the raging conflict that has seen the destruction of six Unesco world heritage sites under President Bashar al-Assad.

Salvatore Settis on the "the commercial rape of Venice"

2018-03-29T14:15:00-04:00

Venice is doomed, says, Salvatore Settis, unless there is a moral revival in Italy. He is a professor of archaeology who has been an advisor on cultural matters to the Italian government and was head of the Getty Center for the Arts and the Humanities in the 1990s. Italians know him from his eloquent denunciations in the press, which say that everything that has made La Bella Italia so beautiful is going to hell in a handcart.

The Art Newspaper reviews If Venice dies, the new book by former Getty Center for the Arts and the Humanities director, Salvatore Settis, and elaborates on his warning calls of La Serenissima's impending doom: "Venice, he emphasises repeatedly, is a paradigm for other cities around the world in the tensions between its historic nature and modern needs, in the delicate relationship between the built city and the environment and in the rush to exploit it for short-term gain."

Ancient Syrian Ain Dara temple severely damaged in Turkish airstrike

2018-01-31T14:49:00-05:00

Much of the magnificent 3,000-year-old temple of Ain Dara, with its mysterious and massive footprints and a structure that provides clues for understanding the biblical temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, has been destroyed in a Turkish airstrike. [...] Photos and video from the Syrian Observatory and Hawar News confirm that more than half of the temple is gone, including many of the sculptures that ringed the site.

"The temple, one of the largest and most extensively ancient excavated structures in Syria," National Geographic reports, "is famous for its intricate stone sculptures of lions and sphinxes, and for its similarities to Solomon’s Temple—the first Jewish temple in Jerusalem, said to have held the Ark of the Covenant."

International Criminal Court issues ruling in first case of cultural destruction as war crimes

2017-08-31T15:08:00-04:00

The International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled on 17 August, that an Islamic extremist caused €2.7m in damages when he destroyed shrines in Timbuktu, Mali, in 2012. This is the first time that the ICC has made a ruling solely on cultural destruction, setting an important precedent. [...] Islamic extremists used pickaxes and bulldozers to destroy nine mausoleums and the centuries-old door of the Sidi Yahya mosque, built during a golden age of Islam [...].

By ruling that "the destruction of the protected buildings has caused the suffering of people throughout Mali and the international community," the International Criminal Court in The Hague acknowledged the demolition of cultural heritage as a war crime — potentially treating recent acts of violence against historic sites in Palmyra and Mosul as such as well.

Ho Chi Minh City′s historic architecture is quickly disappearing

2017-06-12T17:38:00-04:00

Others are concerned the demolition of its famed French architectural gems will render Ho Chi Minh City indistinguishable from other Asian megacities. "In the 1960s and 1970s it was very much French, but now it's very Americanized, McDonald's on every corner," said Hiep Nguyen, born in Ho City Minh City and author of several books on its architectural history. "A streetscape without a story has no value," he added.

"City officials are now writing a nine-point plan to classify buildings and mark some for protection," DW writes, "but admit such a huge task could take years to be implemented."

Palmyra recaptured from ISIS; first photos show level of destruction

2017-03-03T13:24:00-05:00

Syrian government troops have retaken Palmyra from Islamic State forces, with help from Russian air support, the Syrian army said in a statement on Thursday. Politicians in Russian welcomed the news as a triumph, as widely reported by the state’s media, but few details have emerged about the condition of the ancient site, where Isil has previously wreaked large-scale destruction. [...] Isil first took Palmyra in May 2015 and the extremist group destroyed a number of important monuments [...].

The Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities & Museums published an initial set of photos of the extent of destruction after ISIS troops had been driven out of Palmyra's archaeological sites on March 2, 2017.

↑ Roman Theater

↑ Tetrapylon

↑ Triumphal Arch (previously on Archinect)

↑ Palmyra Museum

All images via dgam.gov.sy under Creative Commons License.

ISIS militants retake ancient city of Palmyra

2016-12-12T15:09:00-05:00

ISIS forces have retaken the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, according to Syrian government media, the ISIS media wing and a human rights monitor. [...] ISIS first seized control of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in May 2015. Syrian government forces recaptured it in March this year. [...] ISIS demolished many of the city's ancient treasures, including the 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph and the nearly 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin, as well as the Temple of Bel.

Palmyra previously in the Archinect news:

ISIS believed to have bulldozed 2,900-year-old Assyrian ziggurat in Nimrud, Iraq

2016-11-14T18:42:00-05:00

One of the tallest surviving structures from the ancient world has been totally destroyed by Isil extremists at Nimrud, the former capital of Assyria, which was captured by Iraqi government forces on 13 November. The ziggurat, which was nearly 2,900 years old, was obliterated. Only the largest Egyptian pyramids are higher than Middle Eastern ziggurats and central American step pyramids. [...] incidents represent “the worst damage that Isil has inflicted on Iraqi archaeology”.

An older satellite photo from August 31, 2016 shows the Ziggurat and Temple of Ishtar still intact. Image via ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives Facebook page.

Related stories in the Archinect news:

International Criminal Court hears first case of cultural destruction as war crimes

2016-08-22T15:38:00-04:00

In the first case of its kind, the Islamic extremist Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi has today (22 August), pleaded guilty to war crimes for destroying historic monuments in the ancient city of Timbuktu in northern Mali. Al-Mahdi is accused of ordering the razing of nine mausoleums and the 15th-century Sidi Yahia mosque. It is the first time the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has heard a case about the demolition of cultural heritage.

Learn more about Timbuktu's outstanding value as a world heritage site on UNESCO's website.

Related stories in the Archinect news:

An ode to Brutalism

2016-06-21T15:59:00-04:00

Brutalism will never happen again. Our stock of Brutalism is limited, and sadly under constant attack. The demolition and ‘refurbishment’ of great buildings by Rudolph, I M Pei, Denys Lasdun and other giants of the movement should be taken as seriously as would the loss of buildings by Donato Bramante, Christopher Wren or Frank Lloyd Wright. Brutalism deserves far better than the wrecker’s ball: it was the pinnacle of world architecture through all of history.

Related stories in the Archinect news:

Syrian architect talks about the past and future of her destroyed hometown of Homs

2016-05-13T13:57:00-04:00

Is planning still important in a city that's been razed to the ground by civil war? Syrian architect Marwa Al-Sabouni thinks so. She describes life in the city of Homs, which has sustained massive destruction during the Syrian war, and reveals what she'd like it to look like in the future.

Related stories in the Archinect news:

Death toll climbs to 350 after powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador

2016-04-18T17:46:00-04:00

The death toll rose to 350 on Monday from a devastating earthquake that hit Ecuador at the weekend, as rescuers hunted for survivors, victims clamored for aid and looting broke out in the Andean nation's shattered coastal region. More than 2,000 people were injured in Saturday night's 7.8 magnitude quake, which ripped apart buildings and roads and knocked out power along the Pacific coastline.

Related stories in the Archinect news:

Palmyra after ISIS: a first look at the level of destruction

2016-03-28T19:15:00-04:00

As the Two-Way reported on Sunday, the Syrian government says its forces have retaken the desert city of Palmyra, in the center of Syria. The self-declared Islamic State seized the city in May of last year — and soon unleashed a wave of destruction on its defenders, inhabitants and archaeological treasures.

Previously in the Archinect news:

Venice Lagoon declared most endangered heritage site in Europe

2016-03-17T15:37:00-04:00

The Venice Lagoon is the most endangered heritage site in Europe, declared the pan-European heritage organisation Europa Nostra at an event today [...]. Rising sea levels, swelling number of tourists, large cruise ships in the lagoon, the erosion of the sea bed, dredging deeper channels and the lack of an agreed management plan for Venice has created a perfect storm of threats to the city’s preservation.

Previously in the Archinect news:

Massive fire destroys Astana skyscraper set to become Central Asia's tallest

2016-02-18T14:08:00-05:00

A huge fire has destroyed a building set to become Central Asia’s tallest tower in the Kazakh capital, Astana. The fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning at the construction site of the Abu Dhabi Plaza, an 88-storey tower standing at 381 metres high, designed by architecture firm HKR architects and being built by United Arab Emirates developer Aldar Properties and contractor Arabtec. According to the Kazakh interior ministry, the most likely cause of the fire was a heater.

If in fact completed, this is what the 382 m/1,253 ft Abu Dhabi Plaza tower will look like. Image via the website of the building's architects, HKR Architects.

Related stories in the Archinect news:

Before + after photos of Syria's devastated heritage

2016-02-04T13:45:00-05:00

Across Syria, where a seemingly unstoppable war is about to enter a third year, a heritage built over 5,000 years or more is being steadily buried under rubble.

Related:

Destruction of Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery by ISIS militants went unreported for 16 months

2016-01-20T17:01:00-05:00

Iraq’s earliest Christian monastery has been destroyed by Isil extremists. [...] This seems to have occurred in September 2014, three months after the site on the southern outskirts of Mosul was seized by Isil forces. [...] If the near-total destruction of Mar Elia is confirmed, 16 months after the event, it is worrying that it went unreported, since it suggests that other Christian sites may have also been destroyed without publicity.

Related stories in the Archinect news:

Brutalism's struggle to stay relevant: a few more buildings we lost in 2015

2016-01-12T16:52:00-05:00

Brutalism lost the good fight in 2015. [...] Demolition on another building by Johansen began late last year as well: Stage Theater, once known as the Mummers Theater, in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman‘s Steve Lackmeyer called the 1970 project the number-one modernist building in the city that should have been spared. [....] Preservationists had hoped to turn it into a children’s museum. Models of the building show what a delightful museum it might have made [...].

Brutalike stories in the Archinect news:

Fear grows over ISIS threat against Unesco World Heritage site in Libya

2015-12-16T12:53:00-05:00

Concern is growing over the threat to the Roman antiquities of Sabratha after Isil supporters temporarily occupied the Libyan town. [...] After the recent destruction of antiquities by Isil extremists in Iraq (Mosul, Nineveh, Nimrud and Hatra) and Syria (Palmyra), there is great concern about Libya. Sabratha, a Unesco World Heritage Site, was a Phoenician trading centre in the fifth-century BC and later became an important Roman port.

Previously in the Archinect news: