In nearly all cases, our heritage is suffering from wars and
is no exception. I treated the subject already in “Poor Babylon” and it seems things are slowly moving in the
good direction since the World Monument
Funds (WMF) is presently assisting the Iraqis to restore their heritage.
The WMF and the Iraqi State Board of
Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) have joined efforts and created a program
called The Future of Babylon to
preserve Babylon .
On the long term, they aim to maintain and inventory the site and its content,
and even to build a museum in order to attract tourists. Babylon
[From World Monuments Fund].
This historical city has been heavily damaged during the Iraqi War when the American army used the place as military camp, destroying part of the city in the process. The old paved roads leading to the different city gates have crumbled under the weight of heavy tanks. Much of the rubble (often precious archaeological material) has been used in the construction of airfields for helicopters and parking lots. Smaller archaeological material was also used to fill sandbags. The scanty remains of the Ishtar-Gate (the Gate itself is at the
in ) have also suffered. Underground
or non-exposed pieces may have been damaged by the rolling tanks or leaks of
combustibles and chemicals. To be fair, we cannot ignore that under Saddam Hussein Babylon has not been
treated with much consideration either; the ruins were not guarded and the
restorations were badly executed. Berlin
Over the centuries,
has seen many conquerors
entering through its city gates. We will remember that this is where King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) wrote the very first laws etched in
stone, now one of the proud possessions of the Babylon . This is the place where King Nebuchadnezzar
II (605-562 BC), out of love for his homesick wife, built the famous
hanging gardens; and where the biblical and historical Louvre Museum Tower of Babel
ruled over the complex including the .
It also is the site where from the sixth century BC onwards the Achaemenid
kings lived in their luxurious palaces till in 331 BC King Darius III of Persia was defeated by Alexander the Great, who died within its very walls in 323 BC.
After his death, Alexander’s kingdom
was divided among his generals and successors. Temple of Ishtar lost its mythical status in
the centuries that followed and slid away in the margins of world history. The
city was finally re-discovered in the 19th century but excavations were
intermittent and slow due to the instability of Babylon . Iraq
I find it heartbreaking to see such a famous and once grand city being neglected while we live in times where modern technology can do wonders – except stop the wars and their inconsiderate destructions. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to resuscitate
from the dust and rubble after 2,000 years of neglect and find the very palace
room in which Alexander the Great