Unesco adds Nalanda to World Heritage list
Istanbul: The UN’s cultural agency on Friday added four new sites in Iran, India, China and Micronesia to its World Heritage list.
The sites named by Unesco include the socalled qanat water systems in Iran, the Zuojiang Huashan rock art cultural landscape in China and the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara in India.
The landscape in China is all that remains today of the bronze age culture — known as “bronze drum” after its most characteristic artefacts — once prevalent across the country’s south, the agency said in a statement. The site in Iran is an example of an ancient water- supply system — known as qanat — suited for the most arid areas.
The sites named by Unesco include the so- called qanat water systems in Iran, the Zuojiang Huashan rock art cultural landscape in China and the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara in India
The fourth site is Nan Madol — a ceremonial centre of eastern Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia containing mediaeval palaces and tombs. The Micronesian site is a series of 99 artificial islets built with walls of basalt and coral boulders.
It was, however, immediately placed on Unesco’s list of heritage- in- danger.
The UN agency warned threats to the site were notably the construction of navigation channels which was leading to the uncontrolled growth of the mangrove, making the historic edifices more fragile.
The heritage- in- danger list is intended to highlight the risks facing world heritage sites that need protection and allows the committee to allocate immediate support from the World Heritage Fund.
Unesco named the old towns of Djenne in Mali and Shakhrisyabz in Uzbekistan on Wednesday on its heritage- in- danger list during its 40th meeting of its World Heritage Committee in Istanbul.
All five of Libya’s World Heritage sites were named on Thursday by the agency as at risk of damage from the civil war.