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Maiyegun General

Monday 24 August 2015

Isis destroys temple that’s been in Syria since 17 AD


A courtyard of the sanctuary of the temple of Baal Shamin as it looked before it was destroyed by Isis over the weekend (Picture: AFP/Getty)

For the last 2,000 years, Palmyra’s temples and colonnaded streets have stood the test of time – a testament to the skill of the Roman Empire.

But now, the Unesco world heritage site – dubbed the ‘pearl of the desert – is at risk after the ancient Syrian city fell to Islamic State.

Already, militants have destroyed the temple of Baal Shamin, a building that has stood there since the year 17AD and was expanded under Roman emperor Hadrian in 130AD.

Until Sunday, most of Palmyra’s most famous sites had been left intact, though there were reports IS had mined them and the group reportedly destroyed a famous statue of a lion outside the city’s museum.

The temple had been there since 17AD (picture: AFP/Getty)

‘[Islamic State]placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baal Shamin today and then blew it up causing much damage to the temple,’ Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said.

‘The cella (inner area of the temple) was destroyed and the columns around collapsed,’ he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the destruction of the temple.

The city of Palmyra has been dubbed the ‘pearl of the destert’ (Picture: AFP)

Metro

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