Islamic State militants have destroyed the ancient tower tombs of Palmyra

by **Ponee** Thu Sep 24, 2015 12:05 pm

Islamic State militants have destroyed the ancient tower tombs of Palmyra, continuing a campaign of destruction that threatens Syria's cultural heritage.

The destruction of the tombs, which date from 100 A.D., was discovered in satellite imagery received Wednesday, said Allison Cuneo, project manager for the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), which produces a bi-weekly report on the status of cultural heritage sites in Iraq and Syria for the State Department.

“This confirmed rumors we had heard,” Cuneo said. “We think it happened in multiple stages.”
The earliest satellite evidenc
e ASOR has is from June 26, shortly after Islamic State militants’ takeover of the historic Greco-Roman site in May. Some destruction is visible in the next set of satellites images, received Aug. 27, and more could be seen in images received Wednesday, she said.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of the Antiquities and Museums Department in Damascus, told the Associated Press on Friday that the militants destroyed the tower tombs, including the Elahbel tower built in 103 AD, about 10 days ago. Among the demolished relics is the four-story Tower of Elahbel, the most prominent example of Palmyra's funerary monuments.