Temple of Bel, the most important site in Palmyra, reduced to rubble as jihadis continue to wreck Syria’s cultural heritage

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Satellite images have confirmed that Islamic State has largely destroyed another ancient temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra, the United Nations has said.

Tolerant and multicultural, Palmyra stood for everything Isis hates | Tim Whitmarsh Read more

A powerful blast in the ruins of the ancient city on Sunday was believed to have been the result of Isis targeting the Temple of Bel, although the extent of the damage at the Roman-era structure was not immediately clear.

However, the UN training and research agency, Unitar, said its satellite programme put to rest any doubts that the structure had been destroyed in the blast.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Temple of Bel’s rectangular structure surrounded by columns, as shown before it was destroyed by an explosion. Photograph: Unitar/AFP/Getty Images

“We can confirm destruction of the main building of the Temple of Bel as well as a row of columns in its immediate vicinity,” the agency said on Monday, providing satellite images from before and after a powerful blast.

A picture taken on 27 August clearly shows an erect, rectangular structure surrounded by columns, while a shot taken on Monday showed there was little left besides a few columns in the very outer edges of the site.

It is the second temple Isis has attacked in Palmyra this month. Last week, the group detonated explosives in the ancient Baal Shamin temple, an act that the UN cultural agency, Unesco, called a war crime aimed at wiping out a symbol of Syria’s diverse cultural heritage.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Temple of Bel in the historical city of Palmyra, before its destruction by Isis. Photograph: Sandra Auger/Reuters

On Friday, Unitar presented satellite images confirming the destruction of the Baal Shamin temple.

The jihadis have carried out a sustained campaign of destruction against heritage sites in areas under their control in Syria and Iraq.

Earlier this month, the group beheaded Khaled al-Asaad, the 82-year-old Syrian archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra’s ruins for four decades and hung his body in public, according to Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria’s antiquities chief.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ancient Syrian city of Palmyra seen before Isis. Link to video

Abdulkarim described the Temple of Bel as Palmyra’s most important site and the most important temple in the Middle East alongside Baalbek in Lebanon.



Before the arrival of Christianity in the second century, Palmyra worshipped the Semitic god Bel, along with the sun god Yarhibol and the lunar god Aglibol.



Known as the Pearl of the Desert, Palmyra – which means City of Palms – lies 210km (130 miles) north-east of Damascus. Before the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, more than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra every year.

Construction on the temple began in 32BC and ended in the second century. It later served as a church and a mosque.