Iraq Races to Save Ancient Heritage Sites Threatened by Climate Change
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\n((REPORT))<\/p>\n
Iraqi officials are raising urgent concerns over the survival of the country\u2019s ancient monuments as climate change accelerates the erosion of historic sites in southern Iraq, Reuters reported.
\nRising temperatures, prolonged drought, and increasing soil salinity are threatening the remains of Mesopotamia\u2019s great cities \u2014 including Ur, the birthplace of the Biblical patriarch Abraham, and Babylon, once the heart of powerful empires. Archaeologists warn that the combination of wind, heat, and sand dunes is causing structural damage to millennia-old monuments.<\/p>\n
At the Ziggurat of Ur \u2014 a 4,000-year-old stepped pyramid dedicated to the moon god Nanna \u2014 sandstorms are wearing away its northern side. \u201cThe combination of wind and sand dunes leads to the erosion of the northern sections of the structure,\u201d said Abdullah Nasrallah, an archaeologist with the Dhi Qar antiquities department. He noted that while the upper layer had already deteriorated due to weathering, erosion has now begun to damage the second layer as well.<\/p>\n
Nearby, salt deposits are corroding the mud bricks of the Royal Cemetery of Ur, discovered in the 1920s by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley. Dr. Kazem Hassoun, an antiquities inspector in Dhi Qar, warned that the buildup of salts caused by climate change could eventually lead to the site\u2019s collapse.<\/p>\n
Farther north along the Euphrates, the ancient city of Babylon \u2014 another UNESCO World Heritage Site \u2014 faces similar threats. Dr. Montaser al-Hasnawi, director general at Iraq\u2019s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said that high salinity levels are damaging clay-based structures, some still bearing ancient Sumerian engravings. He added that earlier restoration efforts worsened the problem by using materials unsuited for the region\u2019s changing environment.<\/p>\n
Iraq, already scarred by decades of conflict and instability, is now facing climate pressures that threaten both its agricultural and cultural heritage. Officials warn that without urgent restoration work and environmental mitigation, many of Iraq\u2019s buried cities and ancient monuments could be lost to history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iraq Races to Save Ancient Heritage Sites Threatened by Climate Change ………….. ((REPORT)) Iraqi officials are raising urgent concerns over the survival of the country\u2019s ancient monuments as climate change accelerates the erosion of historic sites in southern Iraq, Reuters reported. Rising temperatures, prolonged drought, and increasing soil salinity are threatening the remains of Mesopotamia\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[10878],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archaeology"],"yoast_head":"\n