As we have already reported Isis has been destroying our shared cultured heritage in Syria for some time.

The murder and decapitation of 82 year old archaeologist Khaled Al-Assad at their hands was just the beginning of the destruction Isis have wrought on Palmyra over the last few weeks, during which they have destroyed the temple of Baal Shamin and the temple of Bel. It has now been reported that Isis have destroyed at least three tower tombs in Palmyra that dated back to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The destruction has been confirmed by the testimony of local residents and satellite imagery of the sites obtained by Boston University.

Isis considers these ancient artefacts, particularly those that venerate gods, as “manifestations of Polytheism”. However,  the hypocrisy of their actions is made clear by the fact that they are looting the sites for anything valuable and movable before destroying them and selling the objects on the black market to line their own pockets.

 

 

Photo Credit: “Tower tombs08(js)” by Jerzy Strzelecki – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tower_tombs08(js).jpg#/media/File:Tower_tombs08(js).jpg