Isil militants have destroyed the ancient Temple of Baal-Shamin in Palmyra. While Syria’s antiquities ministry says Isil used “a large quantity of explosives” to blow up the 2,000-year-old temple on 23 August, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims the destruction happened around a month ago.
The ministry says the structure’s cella and surrounding colonnade took the brunt of the explosion. The temple, dedicated to the pagan god Baal, was built in AD17 and later converted into a Christian church in the fifth or sixth century. It is around 500 metres from the site’s remarkably well-preserved amphitheatre, where Isil killed 20 Syrian soldiers captured in May when the extremists took over the city. In June, reports emerged that Isil had laid mines around the temple.
News of the destruction comes less than a week after the group beheaded 81-year-old Khaled Al-Asaad, the long-time guardian of Palmyra’s antiquities, for reportedly refusing to reveal the location of valuable artefacts from the World Heritage Site. Irina Bokova, the director-general of Unesco, said she was “saddened and outraged” by the senseless murder of the well-respected archaeologist. “They killed him because he would not betray his deep commitment to Palmyra,” she said. “His work will live on far beyond the reach of these extremists. They murdered a great man, but they will never silence history.”
