Israeli heritage site defaced
2009-10-05 18:16
Jerusalem - Unknown vandals damaged an ancient ruin in the Israeli desert recognised by the United Nations as a World Heritage site, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority said on Monday.
One official called the damage to Avdat, an ancient Nabatean city dating back to the third century BC, "irreversible."
The vandals sprayed black and yellow graffiti, destroyed signs, tipped over ancient stone pillars and destroyed a 1 700-year-old marble altar, spokesperson Omri Gal said.
Police are currently investigating the incident, Gal said. The vandals could have entered the site any time during the night since it is open and unfenced, he said.
"We don't know when they came, but they did a lot of damage in a very short time," he said.
Workers were shocked to enter the site on Monday morning and see antiquities broken and covered in spray-paint, said Osnat Eitan, another Parks Authority official.
"We're talking real damage, real vandalism, irreversible damage," she said.
The Parks Authority is sending in conservators and construction teams to evaluate and try to rectify the damage, she said.
Avdat is one of four towns in modern-day Israel left by the Nabateans, an ancient people centred in what is now Jordan. Unesco, the United Nations arm in charge of cultural preservation, has declared all four World Heritage sites.
The city sits on an ancient trade route that once connected the Arabian spice, incense and perfume trades to bustling Mediterranean ports.
- SAPA