Posted on 01/15/2005 7:31:03 AM PST by lizol
U.S.-Led Soldiers Said to Damage Babylon
Sat Jan 15, 5:06 AM ET Middle East - AP
LONDON - U.S.-led troops using the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon as a base have caused widespread damage and contamination, according to a report by the British Museum.
The report, quoted by the Guardian newspaper on Saturday, said military vehicles had crushed a 2,600-year-old brick pavement and that there were archaeological fragments scattered across the site, including broken bricks stamped by King Nebuchadnezzar.
The dragons at the Ishtar Gate were marred by cracks and gaps where someone tried to remove their decorative bricks, the paper said.
Museum officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday.
John Curtis, keeper of the British Museum's Near East department, who was invited by the Iraqis to study the site, also found that large quantities of sand mixed with archaeological fragments have been taken from the site to fill military sandbags and metal mesh baskets, the newspaper said.
"This is tantamount to establishing a military camp around the Great Pyramid in Egypt or around Stonehenge in Britain," Curtis said in the report.
The remains of Babylon, one of the world's most important archaeological sites, have been occupied since the early days of the invasion by U.S. Marines and, more recently, by soldiers from Poland and other countries. Babylon is 50 miles south of Baghdad.
The city's main sites — the Ishtar Gate, the ruins of Babylon and the Nebuchadnezzar Palace — are in a separate area on the camp's perimeter, run by Iraqi officials as an archaeological park open to paying visitors.
The U.S. military says all earth moving has been halted and it is considering moving troops away to protect the ruins.
Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said all engineering works were discussed with the head of the Babylon museum.
"An archaeologist examined every construction initiative for its impact on historical ruins," he said.
In the report, Curtis acknowledged that at first the U.S. presence had helped to protect the site from looters.
But subsequent work — including the decision to cover large areas of the site with gravel brought in from elsewhere to provide car parks and helipads — was damaging, he said.
Lord Redesdale, an archaeologist who heads a parliamentary archaeology committee, described the report's findings as "just dreadful."
"Not only is what the American forces are doing damaging the archaeology of Iraq (news - web sites), it's actually damaging the cultural heritage of the whole world," he said.
For more than 1,000 years, Babylon was one of the world's premier cities, where Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The city declined and fell into ruin after it was conquered by the Persians under Cyrus the Great around 538 B.C.
I didnt know there was an actually town called Babylon.
sounds like liberal, 'blame America' BS to me.
Probably about as true as the "looting" in Baghdad during the invasion
Yeah, I know, especially, that it quoted "The Guardian".
War is hell, isn't it?
Oh, and don't forget, during the years of Saddam, the British Museum (and the rest of the archeoligical world) had full access to the city and everything was well preserved - until the Evil Madman Bush ordered his storm troopers to vandalize the site!!
Anything from The Guardian warrants a skeptical mind. Move along, nothing here!
Guardian article aside it was onthe news here last night.
The actual damage was not done to the building but to areas at the side wher4e excavation had not taken place yet.
The reason this is big news is because the site is UNESCO protected and one of the Seven Wonders of the World (apparently).
Isn't that Madonna's home town?
Nah she has a country manor in Devonshire where she spends her time shooting pheasants (NO JOKE)
Vae Victis
Yep, time to dust off the "Americans are trashing Iraqi antiquities" complaint again.
This almost certainly means that he was paid by Sadam to come authenticate his tourist attraction for the rubes in the years before Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Also remember that the British Museum has refused to condemn the Waqf for intentionally and systematically destroying the archeological sites on the Temple Mount in an attempt to deny that Jews were ever in Jerusalem or Israel (really, that's the official position of the Palestenian Authority).
"The reason this is big news" is because it is a slam at the American military and the Brits eat that $hit up with a spoon.
Alas, Babylon!
The true culprits. :~)
Babylon has fallen !
What happens next.... flipping to revelation ;-)
I suppose the Guardian might be the first media to complain, "The Gates of Hell have been tampered with and battered by some guy named Jesus Christ."
The Guardian, that is.
The reason this is big news" is because it is a slam at the American military and the Brits eat that $hit up with a spoon.
OR
Because it is the Seventh Wonder of the World!
But it is easier to blame the Brits I guess.
This is pretty rich. There was archaeological work going on in Iraq while Saddamn was in charge. The people doing it had no problems kissing up to the dictator and his regime while all kinds of atrocities were being committed against the Iraqi people. Seems to me it's the archaeological community that's got some 'splainin' to do....
Hey, are you starting the thread today? Someone has posted one but I think it is someone looking for hits on his site.
What are the true nationalities of the soldiers who did this, and why don't they refer to their nationalities even ONCE, as opposed to saying they are American-led, and thusly casting aspersions on US?
Gee, I really really wonder why? (screwing finger into cheek)
Inquiring minds want to know...
BTTT.
And I wonder if any of the archaeological work done while Saddamn was there was supported/sponsored by the UN?
There is a place called Babylon in America, the democratic party. Oh I almost forgot, please include the habitat(double wide trailer) of "Freedumb aka Bunny planet. A liberal lefist(troll) who runs when confronted with the truth of what he is in life. He won't see the "Demon's eyes till he comes a callin." King Willie NSNR
BTTT.
Who gives a _____ ? (insert own word)
If at first you don't succeed, slime, slime again.
"Because it is the Seventh Wonder of the World!"
Yes, some sand on the outskirts of the ruins is the Seventh Wonder of the World. Sure, whatever you say.
If the troops had used bulldozers to flatten the entire city, then perhaps it would have merited the amount of outrage, indignation, and hypocritical self-righteousness expressed by the Brits in this story.
Here is another story about the Brits:
New British Smacking Law (Leave Mark on Child, Get 5 Years; Abort Child, be Feminist Hero)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1321572/posts
Yes, some sand on the outskirts of the ruins is the Seventh Wonder of the World. Sure, whatever you say
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Not what I say. It has been that way for many centuries before you were born.
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/list.html
The final list of the Seven Wonders was compiled during the Middle Ages. The list comprised the seven most impressive monuments of the Ancient World, some of which barely survived to the Middle Ages. Others did not even co-exist. Among the oldest references to the canonical list are the engravings by the Dutch artist Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), and Johann Fischer von Erlach's History of Architecture.
Here are some posts from the link you put up:
I went to Scotland and London last June.
I brought clothes for cold weather.
It rained a bit ONE lousy day in Scotland. The rest of the time it was in the 70's.
Then, in London, it got up to the 90's.
Loved both places. The Brits gave me a lovely experience. I plan on visiting again. I want to see the Black Watch some August. They say it's a tremendous experience.
I forget how much of our culture has roots from "over there." The Euro-UK-haters here will have us all frothing at the mouth listening to those left-wing, America-hating rags "over there."
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As a Brit who has spent half my adult life in the US, your opinion seems rather myopic.
Most Brits like Americans and folks of my generation remember with gratitude the sacrifices made during WW11
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it's the media. Do we believe the US media accurately reflects the average American?
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I would say that you're a few sandwiches short of a picnic my dear fellow.
Her Majesty's Forces are in Iraq because Her Majesty's Government decided that it was in our interests to remove Saddam from power, the House of Commons voted by a large margin to support the deployment (a vote which was not needed, b.t.w.).
Do you want a massive petition which we can all sign, what is the passing level, there are 60million of us, would 10million be sufficient? 5million?
Please just go back to your sand-pit and play like a good boy. In the meantime the reasonable Britons and Americans will discuss like adults.
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Thank you for that. I do remember that most Americans, and most FReepers, appreciate the coallition and realise that the point when our two great nations have worked together have also been the greatest points in our histories.
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Why is England about to turn it's back on her great ally
I don't believe that we are about to turn our back on our allies, though when I read crappy comments like your's they do make me wonder. Thankfully calmer and more sensible heads than your's inhabit the White House and Secretary of State's office.
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Remember we are your ally. The only nation to give any real help in Iraq.
Stop falling for leftist anti-american propaganda.
And muslims known to ruin the world via torture, suppression, massive civil rights violations and maladies, oppression, and flat out forced starvation and killing of innocent people.
HMMMM!!!! I wonder which one I'd want on my record...
Location
On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.
History
The Babylonian kingdom flourished under the rule of the famous King, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). It was not until the reign of Naboplashar (625-605 BC) of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian civilization reached its ultimate glory. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens. It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubine who had been "brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain surroundings".
While the most descriptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians such as Berossus and Diodorus Siculus, Babylonian records stay silent on the matter. Tablets from the time of Nebuchadnezzar do not have a single reference to the Hanging Gardens, although descriptions of his palace, the city of Babylon, and the walls are found. Even the historians who give detailed descriptions of the Hanging Gardens never saw them. Modern historians argue that when Alexander's soldiers reached the fertile land of Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were impressed. When they later returned to their rugged homeland, they had stories to tell about the amazing gardens and palm trees at Mesopotamia.. About the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.. About the Tower of Babel and the ziggurats. And it was the imagination of poets and ancient historians that blended all these elements together to produce one of the World Wonders.
It wasn't until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging Gardens were revealed. Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation system, and their true appearance. Some recent researchers even suggest that the Hanging Gardens were built by Senaherib, not by Nebuchadnezzar II (ca. 100 years earlier).
I think it's on Long Island.
Why would you compare it?
People think any criticism or complaint against America is anti-Americansim.
It is not.
This is one of the most important wonders of the world and people here think if you say anything about it you are a leftist anti-American?
Paranoia strikes deep.
I do not see why you think this is an anti-American news item.
Of all the genuine anti-American, freedom hating new stories this is not one.
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