The ancient city of Babylon is by far one of the world’s oldest and most famous sites. It is a piece of the birth of history as we know it, demonstrating the results of a formation of social and religious practices that would change the world. When it comes to importance in the development of modern civilization, Babylon is on par with such legendary regions as Egypt, Greece and Rome. Unfortunately, this city is in serious danger of becoming nothing more than a memory, the remains of it being blown away on the winds as dust.
The site already sustained enough damage from Saddam Hussein when that idiot decided he was going to restore it with an added flair that gave praise to him and modern Iraq. That was almost immediately followed by American soldiers using the site as a base of military operations and doing deliberate damage to many structures to make way for helicopters and road vehicles. That doesn’t even include the soldiers who decided they wanted to take a piece of this ancient history home with them and so looted the bricks of Babylon’s buildings. Now, unless repairs and preservation efforts are made immediately, it may suffer a more complete destruction in addition to the humiliating desecration that it has already undergone.
Most of the site is unexcavated, which means there’s still plenty that is protected by the processes of Mother Nature. What rests above the ground is what archaeologists and the government of Iraq is worried about. Their current goal is to get the site in good enough condition to have it placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. If Babylon can achieve this status, it has a much greater chance of receiving the necessary funding and skilled helpers required to do a full and proper restoration.
The restoration efforts are a huge undertaking and present many challenges. Both weather and a rising water table threaten the walls and structures of Babylon, in addition to careless tourists whom the government guardians of the site can’t seem to properly control. It seems that the only hope of being able to get Babylon recognized by UNESCO now involves adding the Iraqi war elements to the cultural bid - a tasteless but possibly necessary strategy.
Once again, war and human ego has brought some of the world’s most interesting history to the brink of destruction. Only time will tell if the efforts being made by those who wish to save this site will be successful. Until then, each new rising wind will take with it a swirling of dust made from the once great and proud capitol of the Babylonian Empire.