Libya's other wealth: Archaeological treasures

CNN ^ | September 3, 2011 | Libby Lewis

[MinorityRepublican]

(CNN) -- Before Moammar Gadhafi, there were the Phoenicians. And the Greeks. The Romans. The first Arabs. They're a reminder that no civilization -- and no leader -- is forever.

The Libyan transitional leaders have a lot to deal with once they stop being rebels, and begin shaping a new Libya: Keeping law and order, setting up a rudimentary government, dealing with money -- and oil.

But what about Libya's other wealth? Its archaeological treasures?

They are all over the country.

In the south, in Acacus, rock paintings 12,000 years old cross an entire mountain range.

In the east, the city of Cyrene holds a thousand years of history -- Roman general Mark Antony once gave it to Cleopatra.

And along the coast, the splendid ruins of Leptis Magna that were buried for centuries under the sand was said to be one of the most beautiful cities of the Roman Empire.

What will happen to these sites in the days ahead? If you look at history, their fate does not bode well.

"We're very worried," said Francesco Bandarin of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO.

[resistance]

The UN is worried someone else will loot everything before they get there.

[Oatka]

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear —
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
-Shelley

[junta]

Surface to air missles is the real treasure left behind, and now being dispersed world wide. Thank you Nato.

[Tainan]

pingeroo to Libyan history

[Cicero]

Well, Muslims have a generally bad record of destroying antiquities. They destroy ancient churches and temples and build mosques in their places. They destroy ancient statues. Many of the antiquities in places like Egypt and Syria have survived because they were buried under the sand during the years of the Muslim caliphate.

Will they survive now? Maybe people should have thought of that before helping these Muslim terrorists to power.

And frankly, there should be greater concern for the Christians of Egypt and Libya, who were at least mostly tolerated and protected, but now will be murdered.

[3Fingas]

Carthago delanda est!

[ClearCase_guy]

Beat me to it. With Gadaffy gone and al Qaeda looming larger in Libya, those antiquities are not as safe as they were.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Tainan. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Cheetahcat]

Muslims have no use for this, look at the Buddha’s and Art in Afghanistan.