UNESCO Says US Damaged Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Iraq

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, has been badly damaged by some US troops and contractors during the US invasion of Iraq. The gardens were recorded to have been built by the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. The king had reportedly constructed the lush gardens to please his ailing wife who longed for trees and fragrant plants. The main garden measuring 100 long by 100 feet wide was destroyed by earthquakes after the second century. UNESCO has considered the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. The ancient garden has become a popular tourist destination and a famous site in Iraq before the US invasion. Phistar.com reports:

American troops and contractors, notably from KBR — then a Halliburton subsidiary — dug trenches several hundred yards (meters) long through the ruins, bulldozed hilltops, and drove heavy military vehicles over the fragile paving of once-sacred procession paths, according to a report presented yesterday at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris.

"There has indeed been a considerable amount of damage," said archaeologist John Curtis of the British Museum, who inspected the site just after US troops handed it back to Iraqi authorities in late 2004.

] "I'm happy to say we didn't actually find any sign of malicious damage," done after the departure of the US-led coalition troops in 2004, Curtis told reporters The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is located about 56 miles south of Baghdad. For a while the gardens became a military camp operated and maintained by American troops. It was known as ‘Camp Alpha’ during the American occupation of Iraq. UNESCO officials are looking at the possibility of restoring the once famous historical site which was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.