Introduction
Cultural heritage plays a significant role in the contemporary society. It refers to the legacy of the physical science artifacts, and intangible attributes of a group or societies inherit from the past generation, maintain them in the present to generate benefit to the future. Over time, the cultural heritages destructions by the terrorist group have been rampant in the recent past. In case of this paper, the summary of the A monumental Loss: Here are the most Significant Cultural Heritage Sites That ISIS has destroyed to date article is done. It aims at unveiling the sites and items damaged as well as the gains and losses incurred.
Summary of Significant Cultural Heritage Sites That ISIS have destroyed
Most of the cultural heritage has been at risks of destruction due to war experienced in Syrian overtime. The regions of destructions range from Mesopotamia to Roman Empire. According to the American Schools of Oriental Research on Cultural Heritage destructions, the sites destroyed since 2010 comprise of the Tetrapylon located in Palmyra, Assyrian Tell Sheikh Hamad, Ancient Roman capital Bosra, Ebla and Mari from the Bronze Age, Dura-Europos, the Crac des Chevaliers medieval castle complex, and the ancient cities in Northwestern Syria. Some of the objects destroyed include the historic library in Mosul and the artifacts in various historical sites. The UNESCO considers this move as the intentional destruction referred to as a cultural heritage war crime. The main point of focus for the ISIS was the churches, museums, mosques and archeological sites. They attack the archeological sites, steal the items and sell them on the black market to aid them in funding their activities. However, the propaganda used by the terrorists to show the public that they dominate the archeological sites has been ruled out by most of the officers of such sites. Therefore, the archeologists still put a lot of efforts to conserve the relics of the cultural heritage positions in the expanse impaired or devastated in Iraq and Syria.
Implications of the site's destruction or damage
In the situation where the sites destroyed, the nation, as well as the societies lose their sources of income as those who work in those sites will either be dead or jobless. These tend to bring a lot of frustration to the family members as well as the entire society. Besides, it leads to the decline in the revenue to the government due to the fact that there will be a loss of artifacts which the world can view today or in future. Besides, it leads to the loss of the historical evidence, a process which can affect education system hence an adverse effect on the nations as well as the world. It is because historians tend to rely on this information to identify the past problems which people were facing and find the solution for the present and future generations. During the destruction process, the ISIS gained from the sale of the artifacts which aid them to finance their illegal operations. On the other hand, the Syria and Iraqi nations lost a lot of objects, items, and writings which were very vital for the religious development, as well as for tourists' attraction sites. Due to the persistent war, the number of visits to these sites by the tourists is hardly any hence leading to the loss of revenue.
How the article depicts archaeology to the public
In the article, the depiction of archeology is negatively done to the publicway. Instead of improving its meaning which entails human activities that leads to recovery and analysis of the material culture, the destruction of the cultural heritage objects is enhanced. These tend to portray that instead of efforts put by the archeologists to preserve these items, the society especially the rebel groups' aim at their destruction. According to the interview done to Archeologist Gabriel, he stated that the sites, especially in the Roman Empire, have not been dominated by the ISIS as they spread in their social media propaganda. He noted that the sites destroyed by the rebel groups led to the loss of precious items protected by all means. It is due to their value which enables the terrorists to sell them on the black market to raise funds for their operations. Therefore, the presentation of the historical information tends to influence the communication flow to the public since most items destructed and the public can't access this information today or in future.
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Therefore, due to the importance of the archeological sites to the nations as well as the world, their protections are paramount. It is thus very vital for the cease-fire in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the world to aid in the preservation of the historical sites as well as the cultural heritage.
References
Buffenstein Alyssa (2017) A monumental Loss: Here are the most Significant Cultural Heritage Sites That ISIS has destroyed to Date. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/isis-cultural-heritage-sites-destroyed-950060
