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Ancient History, Modern Destruction: Assessing the Status of Syria’s Tentative World Heritage Sites Using High-Resolution Satellite Imagery

Following an earlier report on the World Heritage Sites of Syria, the Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) undertook an assessment of Syria’s Tentative World Heritage sites using high-resolution satellite imagery. Syria has nominated twelve sites to the UNESCO Tentative World Heritage List and AAAS is producing two reports, each consisting of six sites, on the current state of those sites. This report details the condition of: Dura Europos, Ebla, Hama’s Waterwheels, Mari, Raqqa, and Ugarit. A subsequent report will present analysis of: Apamea, the Island of Arwad, Maaloula, Qasr al-Hayr ach-Charqi, Sites of the Euphrates Valley, and Tartus. Analysis indicates that four of the six Tentative World Heritage sites assessed in this report exhibit significant damage.

Click here to view an interactive version of this report.

Visit https://www.aaas.org/programs/scientific-responsibility-human-rights-law/past-projects/cultural-heritage-risk for more information about this project.

Download the Report